Hello all!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to read my work and apologise in advance for any typos or grammatical errors that I may have missed.

I also want to point out that I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Enjoy!


The Land of Gods and Monsters.

Few are safe in the Land of Gods and Monsters. To a human, this unruly land is only stories and legends, but every once and a while the unfortunate human will stumble unknowingly upon this place and never return. The land is just as volatile and restless as the creatures that inhabit it, much of it constantly at war with itself. Mountains of fire and molten earth destroying and creating land just as the raging waters battle, reclaiming land and swallowing everything within its reach.

Even in this hostile land, there are regions of paradise, of sanctuary, which make battling the land worthwhile. In one particular sanctuary, this is where this particular story begins.

The breeze was still warm as the sun lazily began to set over mountains made of stone, ice and fire. Emerald eyes opened and frowned at the looming threat of darkness, and with a sigh she sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her long pink hair fluttering in the breeze, the scent of the wildflowers wafted pleasantly around her in the meadow that had been her sanctuary for the day. She rose from her resting place and stretched, she felt reinvigorated from her nap, but her bones still ached from her nights of running, her muscles still tender from being pushed to the limit night after night. Her eyes drifted to the forest not too far from where she stood, her eyes hard and unreadable.

The twilight sky was set afire by the setting Sun, almost as if it were a warning to all of what was to come. The creatures of the darkness were approaching, she could feel it, she could always feel it, and she needed to get away. With the fading light, she turned her back on the forest and started to make her way to the other side of the meadow when she noticed something was wrong. She heard it before she saw it and dived away just in time. In the spot where she just had been, the creature who had just face planted into the dirt sat up, rubbing its forehead.

'Itai…'

The creature looked around, quickly spotted the pinkette from her crouched position.

'Mo, Sakura-chan, what was that for? I just wanted to hug you!'

The creature grinned still massaging the bump on his forehead, his tails flickering playfully.

Sakura glared, and without a word she took off. His grin turned sly and the kitsune chuckled as he stood.

'So Sakura-chan wants to play eh?'

And with that, he took after her, but not without giving her a head start, after all the game would be no fun if it was a short one.

Not daring to look behind her, Sakura took off towards the opposite end of her meadow. She ran for what felt like hours, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she was found again. The Pinkette slowed as she approached a river, she knelt by the water and scooped some water into her hands to drink. She splashed some water on her face and froze realising her mistake. In her escape from Naruto, she had run straight into the forest. Cursing aloud, she stood turned around only to find herself looking up to a pair of red eyes

'My, my, such filthy words coming from such a lady, I'm shocked.' The demon smirked

Sakura mentally groaned at her bad luck.

The demon with the spinning red eyes and wings as black as night was the stuff of nightmares, this particular one was not fully grown, but that does not mean he wasn't dangerous, and Sakura only knew this too well, even so she was thankful it was him and not his elder relatives.

'What are the chances of running into such as lovely creature on such an evening as this' the demon continued looking over the emerald eyed girl in front of him.

She shivered with disgust at his gaze, which he must have taken for pleasure as his eyes flicked over her once more, his smirk only growing. She grimaced at his response and weighed her options, she was fast, but he was faster, her only chance was surprising him. She saw her chance as he begun to reach out for her, just as his hand reached her, she grabbed his arm and flung him into the water. She never stopped to look as she took off deeper into the forest.

He wasn't the brightest, but even for him that was too easy an escape, but she wouldn't admit that herself as she ran. Not wanting to tire herself out so early in the night, she slowed once more, but she chose to climb a tree this time rather than staying exposed on the ground. Finding a secure enough branch, she sat back and leaned against the tree trunk. The moon was high enough to see from her spot in the tree, and moonlight pooled over her, illuminating her features.

Sakura was no ordinary creature herself, she was born into this world as a cherry tree, she grew strong and beautiful and was revered by all who saw her, until the humans decided that progress was more important and so she was torn down. The Gods, devastated by her destruction, took pity on her spirit and brought her to their lands where she was reborn from a cherry blossom with a new form and immortality. A gift in which she viewed as a curse as much as a blessing. In these lands, she was unique, which meant that the creatures prized her and relentlessly chased her to claim her as theirs and only theirs. But her new form was not only one of beauty, she was also gifted with intelligence, super strength, and the ability to heal herself and others, she also had the gift of true sight which allowed her to see through illusions of any who wished to harm her. These gifts were all the more reason for the creatures and monsters to desire her.

It wasn't long before her moment of peace was disrupted but this time she had the upper hand from her spot in tree. She looked down and spotted her pursuers

'She's not here dobe' the red eyes looked everywhere but in her direction.

'I can smell her, I know she was here.' Came the reply from the demons companion.

'Maybe your nose is broken, wouldn't be the first time' he sneered, the kitsune growled.

'Shut up Sasuke-teme, I'd know her smell anywhere, it's the smell of cherry blossoms' the last part was spoken with a dreamy sigh that caused Sakura to roll her eyes

'Besides, it was your plan to drive her towards the forest, it's not my fault you lost her Teme' Naruto frowned at the so called Teme

'Yeah well she took me off guard' with a growl of frustration, Sasuke kicked at the earth.

'Wouldn't be the first time teme' the fox eared blond retorted with a chuckle, easily avoiding the demons kick

'Don't worry Teme, we have all night to find her, and we will'. With a wink in her direction that nearly made her flinch, they took off in another direction.

She waited for as long as she could remain still before she leapt from the branch onto the next tree. Frowning, she made sure she was going in the opposite direction of the others before steadying her pace. It was going to be a long night, they usually were.

Her mind was racing as she leapt from branch to branch, it had been too easy getting away from both Naruto and Sasuke each time, and that worried her. She didn't have time to continue that thought as her foot caught in something and she slammed into the next branch, knocking the wind out of her. She reached out to grab the branch but didn't make it in time before she began to fall. She cursed and braced herself for her crash landing when she suddenly started falling in another direction. She cursed again when she realised why. She looked up to a pair of red eyes, a different pair, but an even worse pair than Sasukes.

'I didn't mean to make you fall'

The smirk on his lips told her otherwise. She growled and swung her arm to punch her captor, who dropped her in surprise. She was falling again, this time from a higher branch, but she had her bearings and was able to brace herself to land on the ground and roll, saving her knees. She quickly stood in a defensive position.

'Well that was dramatic, even for you' he was smirking again, leaning on the tree trunk from a branch above her.

'I can be dramatic too, look.' He then stepped off the branch, his ebony wings slowing his fall, making his landing soft and silent.

She would have rolled her eyes if it were someone else, but she didn't dare take her eyes off him.

'Hn. You needn't look at me like that, you couldn't have thought it would be as easy to escape me as my foolish brother did you?' His smug expression turned to one of mock hurt as he watched her unmoving one.

In the blink of an eye he was behind her, one arm around her middle, the other hand under her chin forcing her to look up at him. His large wings encircling them both.

'As beautiful as you are, if you continue frowning like that, you face may be stuck like that forever and I'll miss seeing your wonderful smile.' His gazed drifted down to her lips and begun to lower his head towards hers.

Just as she was about to swing her fist at him there was a loud bang.

'See Sasori no danna, I told you Sakura-chan was here, yeah!' was the gleeful cry from the blond as he exploded into the clearing.

There was no reply from his crimson haired companion other than a sigh as he approached the clearing less dramatically.

Meanwhile Sakura was cradled under the older red eyed demon who had thrown himself over her as a result of the explosion. Seizing her chance, she raised her leg in a well-aimed kick and threw the stunned demon over her head and tore off once more into the woods.

'Oi where'd Sakura-chan go un? And why does Itachi look like he's gonna cry?'

The only response the pyrodemon got from his companion was another sigh, only this time it was more impatient.

She was beginning to grow weary as she moved through the forest, with a glance at the moon she groaned realising it wasn't even halfway through the night. She continued on and nearly tripped when she heard a chuckle beside her.

'Rough night hmm?'

Her eyes flicked to her left, then swerved away, turning sharply. With another chuckle, her companion followed. He kept her pace much easier than she did, she noticed to her disdain so she pulled up sharply. He did the same, kicking up less dust than she did. She stood with her hands on her hips looking at him expectantly.

'What? No fond greeting for me? I'm hurt Sakura-chan…' his grin was hidden behind his mask, but she knew it was there.

The moonlight reflected on his silver hair, making it shine. The wolf demon stood aloof, but was always ready to pounce, Sakura had learned that the hard way. Despite this, she was most at ease around him than any of the other demons, he was far less relentless in his chasing, much preferring to let her come to him, the lazy bastard.

'What do you want Kakashi?' she huffed, crossing her arms.

'Ah, and so she speaks!' His next remark was stuck in his throat when he noticed her withering stare.

'Uh, well I just happened to be wandering through the forest on this lovely moonlit night, when all of a sudden this old lady comes falling out of the sky, and myself, being the kind and thoughtful demon I am-' He was cut off this time by a chunk of earth thrown at his head, ducking just in time.

'Ah Sakura-chan that could of hurt..' He rubbed the back of his head and his eye crinkling was the only giveaway that he was smiling. The Pinkette began to walk away when he spoke again.

'I found you because I thought I'd warn you, be extra careful tonight, they have a plan to catch you, and if they do, they'll never let you go' His expression turned serious as he spoke.

She barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes 'They're always trying to catch me, what makes tonight any different'

'Because they're working together'

The words made her blood turn to ice in her veins and she turned to face him, eying him carefully

'And how do I know you're not working with them?' she spoke slowly, not liking the unreadable look in his eyes.

He was suddenly in front of her, leaning down so his forehead was touching hers.

'Because this wolf demon works alone and I want you all for myself' and he was gone with the breeze, leaving her with only a kiss on her forehead and shiver down her spine.

With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, she continued on, this time at a walk.

Not too long after, she stomped her foot on the ground in frustration, leaving an impressive crater on the ground in her wake. She was lost, she didn't want to admit it to herself but she was lost. Cursing the Gods for not giving her wings, she trudged on.

'Yo bitch, long time no see'

If she had been anyone else, she would have screamed when the Jashinist appeared before her, but she wasn't anyone else, and she was pissed because demons kept popping up out of nowhere. So she did what she did best, and threw a strength enhanced punch at his jaw, sending him flying into a few dozen trees. All she heard out of him was something along the lines of 'that's one hell of a bitch' or 'do it a-fucking-gain', she didn't know or care as started walking again. No creature dared to stir as she stomped through the woods.

The trees started to clear as a lake came into view, she almost sighed in relief but did not in case she jinxed herself. Once more knelt on a rock by the waterside, this time more careful in her approach, but her only company was some water nymphs gossiping about some such on the other side of the lake. With a huff, she sat back on the rock and swung her legs over the side, keeping an eye on the nymphs and she dipped her feet in the cool waters. Nymphs were notorious for their mischief and liked drowning anyone they could catch unawares, but after a few encounters with the sakura blossom's temper, they kept their distance. Even so, Sakura wasn't going to turn her back on them anytime soon.

The lake itself, whilst not the largest in the lands, was one of the bigger ones, this much was clear to Sakura, she could looked towards the mountains to the west and spotted the river that flowed through to lake and then left for the sea towards the east. She weighed her options once more, she'd much rather avoid the forest at all cost but if she followed the river to the sea, she might be safe there. The creatures of the forest drew their power from the forest and the further they were away from it the weaker they were, but at night that did not matter much as long as it was dark. The creatures also tended to avoid the salt water sea, as it very much had a mind of its own and did not mind drowning any beast who did not belong to it. On the other hand she could follow the river upstream to the mountains, the boulders and stone would make excellent cover as well could ammunition thanks to her strength, but even with her excellent endurance, she was not made for uphill combat or rock climbing.

She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and cursed her stupidly. Most nights, at least one of them came after her, but she was rarely stupid enough to find herself this deep in the forest. There was something different about tonight, and Sakuras mind drifted back to Kakashis words. Sure enough she could usually take on one of them, maybe two, and whenever it had been more, the usually turned on each other in their greed and that was when she made her escape. If they were working together, she was screwed, but could they really be willing to share her? She had to swallow back vomit at the thought.

Meanwhile, Sakura was so deep in her musings that she didn't notice that the nymphs had suddenly become quiet or that the moonlight had disappeared, or rather had been blocked by something with wings so large they dragged on the ground as the creature walked, or eyes the colour of blood that spun, anyone unfortunate to look into these eyes would find themselves in their own eternal nightmare trapped forever. It was only when a pair of clawed hands found themselves on her shoulders, massaging gently, she was jolted out her thoughts with a yelp.

'My, my, you should relax more darling, you're quite tense.' The voice soft as silk was next to her ear, and she froze, unable to move upon realising who it was.

'Do I still frighten you so, my love?' The words were followed by a soft chuckle that sent an unwilling shiver down her spine, the kneading on her shoulders stopped as she was pulled back on to the beasts lap, her back to his chest. The clawed hands moved back to her shoulders and starting moving in such a motion that Sakura unconsciously moaned a little, leaning her head back on his shoulder.

His lips were close to her neck and his breath tickled her exposed skin. The massage continued for a few more moments before her eyes snapped open and she would have moved to flee, if it had not been for the glowing eyes that trapped her in the intensity of their gaze. Her gift of true sight would protect her from being caught in the nightmares and illusions that many before her had been trapped in for eternity, but that was not what trapped her in them. In those eyes she saw hunger, possessiveness, longing, and perhaps loneliness? If she had been in her right mind, she would have scoffed and said that it would be impossible to express such things, let alone see them in a person's eyes, but she was not in her right mind in this moment in time.

The trance was only broken when he spoke again, with the smirk that was trademark to his breed. 'See something you like, pet?' And this is when she came to her senses, with a sharp elbow to his gut she threw herself forward off the rock and into the water. She broke the surface with a gasp for air, a few metres from the rock, she dared move no closer. He may have had wings, but his kind was not welcome in these waters, the demon's soul was too dark.

'Darling, there's no need for that, come back to me, it's not safe for you in the water and you were just starting to enjoy yourself' his tone was confident, but the look in his eyes gave Sakura the message she wanted, she saw the brief glimpse of desperation. He may not be welcome in the water, but that didn't mean Sakura wasn't. She glared up at him, just as angry with herself as she was at him for allowing herself to be entranced.

'Goodbye Madara.' She turned and began to swim across the water

'For now, Pet, but I will find you again' was all she heard as she dove down under the surface, not wanting to hear anymore.

The Pinkette was by no means a lousy swimmer, but water was not her affinity and it was only a matter of time before the less friendly spirits took it upon themselves to welcome her to her demise, so she made her way across the lake as quick as she could. Once on the other side, she dragged herself up onto the sandy bank, it had been a harder swim than she anticipated. She flopped on her back and lay for a few moments panting, ignoring her soaked clothes clinging to her uncomfortably and it feeling of sand everywhere. She stared up at the moon tiredly. Madara's appearance meant that the moon was past its peak, that's when the strongest and oldest of the demon kind awoke to bring terror and devastation to the unwary. And much to Sakura's chagrin, she had caught the eye of one of the most powerful demons of all.

She must have dozed off because the next time she opened her eyes she was not in the same place she had closed them. She could tell she was moving because the wind in her face, which she shied away from burying her face in the orange warmth she happened to find herself being carried by. Said orange warmth grinned with glee at his treasure's reaction, inwardly fist pumping. It was a few more moments before she realised her situation. She raised her head from his shoulder and spoke in a low, warning tone.

'Naruto, put me down' She wasn't asking.

Said kitsune only grinned, but avoided her eye.

'No can do Sakura-chan' was all he said as he leapt from tree to tree

Whether it was from her exhaustion, the psychological warfare that the night had been or the fact that being held so delicately by Naruto with his inviting warmth, she was unable to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She refused to let them fall and turned her head away so he wouldn't see her weakness.

'Naruto, please put me down.' She couldn't control her voice from breaking.

Naruto's head snapped down to look at her and he slid to a halt as soon as he heard the crack in her voice, his cerulean eyes wide with concern.

'Sakura-chan, what's wrong?' He let out in alarm.

She turned her head up to look at him and glared through the tears threatening to fall.

'What do you think you baka? You're kidnapping me against my will.'

Naruto dropped her like she was a hot coal and yelped in alarm after realising what her done, he bent down to help but she pushed his arms away.

'Why won't you all leave me alone?' She half sobbed half yelled.

Naruto spluttered trying to form words, falling to his knees beside her, Sakura had wrapped he arms around her knees and buried her face between them. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but she flinched away from him.

'B-But Sakura-chan, it was a game! I thought you were playing….' His face was a mixture of hurt and confusion.

She looked up, the tears were flowing freely now, she didn't care.

'A game? Of course it was a game! But you were the only one playing, and now you've won, so claim your prize! I'm sick of running.' She smiled bitterly

Naruto's face crumpled at her words, his eyes so full sadness the bright spark faded to a dull puddle of blue. His hands gripped at his knees, but he didn't say a word as he looked away in shame.

At his silence, Sakura stood, wiping the tears from her face and turned to walk away when a hand shot and grabbed her wrist

'W-wait, please' his voice was so full of pain that she couldn't help but turn to look back at him in surprise. His body language confused her, why was he so sad?

He looked up at her and saw the tears in his eyes. Her emerald eyes widened in shock, but she was immediately on guard, what if it was a trick? That's what Kitsunes were known for right?

'I-I'm so-sorry Sakura-chan, I thought it was a game because you were playing and always running away and it was always the same. But I shoulda guessed you weren't playing because if you were then you probably would have chased me sometimes and you probably would have looked like you were enjoying it' He sobbed and the words were coming out fast and shaky. He then smiled bitterly as she had done

'I should have known better that the look of fear in your eyes was real.'

When he looked at her, he looked so vulnerable and wounded that Sakura was lost for words.

Her voice was tight when she spoke 'I'm not sure I believe you, and for all I know this could be one big trick and you're going to eat me when I'm not looking.' She smiled a little so he'd know she was trying to joke, trying.

'I never, ever wanted to hurt you Sakura-chan! I swear! I'm so sorry, I never thought you were honestly afraid.' The sincerity in his face was real enough for Sakura to fall to knees in front of him, throwing caution to the wind, she placed her hands over his. He whined a little at her touch and her expression softened.

'All I ever wanted was to protect you, Sakura-chan. Y-you were so sad when you first came here, you looked so broken, all I wanted to was make you smile.' He looked so forlorn that she felt he was the one that was broken.

'You've got a funny way of showing it, Naruto.' She reached up to brush a tear from his cheek and he leaned into her touch, his tails twitching in delight

'That's all I really wanted Sakura-chan, I want you to be happy.' he sighed into her hand.

She didn't know what to say or do, but she didn't stop him when reached out and wrapped her arms around her. She let him hold her close for a moment before she decided to sit more comfortably and allowed him to rest his head on her lap. Her mind was screaming but he decided to ignore it and just give in, at least for a little while. She was surprised at herself for so readily being able to relax around the Ktisune. If he wanted to kill her, he would have by now, right?

A few moments went by and she looked down to see his big blue eyes staring up at her, she blushed slightly and avoided his gaze, suddenly distracted by his hair. She couldn't help herself when she reached down and started to move her fingers through it and marvelled, a little jealously at how soft it was. She swore she heard him purr, or least whatever the fox equivalent of purring was. Gathering a little courage, she gently stroked his ears, with no negative reaction, growing brave she started to scratch behind his ear, just like she's do with some of the more tame beasts she may come across. His 'purring' grew louder as she continued and she jumped when he moaned, pulling her hands away, he whined at the loss of her touch, his eyes opening.

'Aw that was really starting to feel good' he yawned sleepily.

She blushed a little but then remembered something, gathering what little courage she had left.

'Hey, Naruto…-kun?' She hesitantly added the 'kun' hoping to soften him a little for her next question, but squeaked when she was suddenly half tackled to the ground, the kitsune nuzzling her neck with glee.

'You called me Naruto-kun!' his smile was so infectious she couldn't help but let out a small smile in return, but then remembered her mission, and sat up pushing him away.

'Yes, Naruto-kun'-She narrowly avoided another half tackle-'Please Naruto-kun this important.' He sat up at her tone, his expression wary but nodded to let her continue.

'I ran into Kakashi a few hours ago and he gave me a warning.' She watched him for any reaction but he only frowned slightly at the mention of the Wolf Demon. She spoke slowly and carefully.

'He warned me that tonight was different, because you and some of the others, although he never mentioned who, were working together to capture me, is it true?.' She felt she already knew the answer but she wanted to hear it.

Naruto looked away in shame.

'We wanted to work together show we could make you happy, that we could protect you, if you just let us try.' She waited for him to continue, her expression blank.

'You were always running, and you never got the chance to make a home, so some of us wanted to help make you one, and you could live together with us, or wherever you liked.' He smiled a little at her puzzled expression.

'Why do you think we so keen to push in certain directions? We already had some spots picked put that we'd thought you'd like.' She nodded, it made some sense in a sick and twisted way, but it made sense.

'And you were involved?' She asked with a tilt of her head.

'Even Kakashi?' He nodded in response.

'Figures that pervert would be a part of it although, I never thought you could play so nicely together, especially Madara,.' She pondered aloud with a finger under her chin.

The Kitsune froze and his eyes flashed red briefly.

'Madara was never involved' he spoke out his tone deadly.

'Ah well that doesn't surprise me' Sakura laughed nervously at the murderous glint in his eyes.

She decided to distract him by putting her hand on his cheek, and it worked like a charm with his eyes, returned to the shining blue, were back on her. She sighed, sending a silent prayer to the fickle gods that this wasn't some sort of cruel and twisted joke and decided to give in.

'Naruto-kun, I'm still not sure I believe you, but I'm tired of running for my life, and it's probably my exhaustion and delusions kicking in, but I'm willing to give you a chance.' She ducked under his arm as he leapt for her.

'But, only on certain conditions' at her words, his gleeful cry got stuck in his throat and he pouted, causing her to chuckle. Boy his charm was working her good, that or she's finally lost her mind.

'My conditions are simple put firm.' She raised her finger. 'Firstly, we are going to walk to wherever it was you were going to drag me.' He nodded sheepishly at this.

'Secondly, I get the chance to back out whenever I want, and there will be no complaint from any of you and you will all leave me alone forever and eternity if that is what I want' She nearly laughed as he nodded, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

'And lastly' this time his lip started to tremble as she started to speak. 'Lastly, I want to get something to eat before we go anywhere because I have been so busy running from you perverts that I forgot to eat and that's enough for me to kill something.' He started to laugh in relief but quickly stopped when noticed her serious expression.

Sweatdropping, he stood, holding out his hand for her to take, grinning when she did and pulling her in to a hug when she stood. She rolled her eyes but shyly returned the hug, hoping that she hadn't made a mistake.

After a minute, the kitsune pulled back, but still had his arms around as he looked down at her with a bright smile.

'Deal! Now I think the humans make some sort of gesture when they make a deal…' He stepped back and rubbed his chin, in serious thought trying to remember what it was.

'Oh! I remember the shake their hands!' He held out his right hand/claw to the bewildered pinkette

'Here, just do what I do!' she put her hand in his and he gave it a good shake.

She raised her eyebrow at the gesture and took her hand back.

'Humans are weird..'

'You got that right, but they do make some of the best food!' he nodded vigorously, tails wagging.

At the mention of food, she perked up. 'Oh yeah, like what?'

Naruto held out his hand and started counting on his fingers.

'Oh you know chocolate, waffles, pizza- oh and of course my number one favourite, ramen.' He drooled at little at the last part.

'Ramen, what's a ramen?' She asked as her stomach growled aggressively.

The kitsunes jaw hit the floor and he spluttered for a moment.

'WHAT? You've never had ramen? Oh gods we gotta get you some ramen, you haven't lived! What flavour should you have first, oh I know how about them all!'

The overexcited fox boy grabbed her wrist and took off running towards the forest yelling something about 'We gotta get you to Ichirakus!'

Sakura sweatdropped and chuckled at the blonds outburst, not minding at all the fact that she was in fact being dragged to gods knows where, but she was feeling hopeful for perhaps the first time since she'd been reborn in to this form. As they ran through the forests, she realised that she wasn't afraid, and that the forest didn't seem so dark after all. Maybe the gods knew what they were doing and her curse wasn't really a curse. It would take a lot for her to call it a blessing, but she was willing to give it a chance, after all she didn't really have anything to lose.

Fin.


And there you have it folks, I hope it wasn't too awful or boring. It's the longest piece I've written so far and I'd really appreciate any reviews or thoughts you guys may have! Thank you!