I really don't know how many times I've come back and re-edited this chapter only to forget that it is in my document manager for a finite amount of days and realize too late that all my hard work has been deleted. Either way, here is the re-mastered Chapter 1, Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the concept of angels and demons.


White light and blissful peace had always been her home. Beyond gentle clouds caressed by the wind, beyond the warm rays of sunlight that kissed the face of the Earth, in the realm of Paradise, she was known as Gabriel. That was her God given name, but to her closest friends and allies, her name was Sakura.

Time moved quickly and slowly all at once as she witnessed a new sunrise climbing up over the village she was currently presiding over. At this moment she was the clean morning air, she was the fresh dew clinging to the grass, the blooming cherry blossoms on their trees, and the spirit of peace in the hearts of the people waking to the new day. In this ethereal form, she was able to experience the simplicity of humanity, the freedom that they constantly use to shape their own existence... in the village that she has been chosen to protect.

God in Heaven had sensed an ancient darkness slowly building here, waiting here; the kind of darkness that He had informed them long ago could only be the work of one of the Fallen. They, the most powerful of demons and also the most recognizable, because they were once God's angels too. Such incredible unholy forces could only be combated by archangels.

Therefore, Sakura had scoured the stretch of the entire country for a few years before she finally managed to pinpoint the source of this emanation of dark power to this specific village. The village was curiously peaceful, and the source of power was so well hidden and the aura of it was deceptively spread across the entire country to make it seem as if a source didn't exist. But Sakura was closer now than ever before, and she would save the people of this thriving village.

For now, she took pleasure in freeing her essence throughout the homely and beautiful land of Konoha, feeling herself fall in tune with the nature of this place. It wasn't long before she felt a different presence besides the warmth of the sun approaching from the east. She easily manifested herself into her physical form among one of the many planes of Paradise that overlooked the Earth, specifically the one overlooking her village. Her thigh length cherry blossom pink hair curled and whipped behind her in the wind, while her happy, smile squinted, shining emerald green eyes warmly welcomed her most favored visitor.

"Neji!" Her voice rang out melodically as she approached the tall male making his way towards her with wide open arms.

Michael was his God given name, but she knew him fondly as Neji. He appeared before her against the bright light of glorious paradise, white wings still spread from his comfortable landing, waist length brown hair dancing in the wind as he closed the distance between them swiftly. Sakura's equally pure white wings fluttered with happiness as Neji's folded delicately in contentment as he held her closely in this arms, resting his eyes and nuzzling his face into her hair as he felt his soul burn in response to her touch and her scent.

"Sakura..." He breathed her name like a soft prayer and pulled back only enough to stare into her eyes with his own glowing silver pair. He caressed her cheek gently and kissed her lips, savoring the feeling of the warmth that spread through his heart from this simple act of affection. Sakura felt herself warm up and glow in response to Neji's kiss.

She opened her mouth and invited him to slowly deepen the kiss as she moved her lips against his own, caressing his silky brown hair and pulling him closer to herself. She felt her heart swell when his lips and body responded to her advances. They kissed and touched, gently caressed and smiled and their fingers would linger at every touch of hair and skin. Sakura finally pulled away long enough to take Neji by the hand and guide him to a comfortable bed of clouds, and laid him down gently before setting herself next to him and leaning over his form to kiss him again, her curtain of rose colored hair brushing against his cheek and mingling with his own dark hair spread over the white cloud cushion.

"Where have you been...?" She whispered lovingly, caressing his cheek and searching his eyes.

"I've been guarding the Gates of Hell... demons have been more daring and brazen lately, many of us believe they are plotting something, but it's not clear what that is yet..." He murmured in response, concern clearly showing on his face.

Sakura nodded in understanding. All the angels have been on high alert since the powers of darkness have made themselves more and more apparent. More low level demons have shown up all across the world. Angels and Archangels alike have been busier than ever, trying to retain a balance. Everyone knows that there is something coming, but God has not shared his divine plan with anyone... he merely keeps sending his best angels out on missions to quell the unrest on the mortal plane. He remains as mysterious as he is pure.

She sighed, choosing to change the subject as quickly as she could, "I don't have that much time to spend away from my duty... I would like to make the most of what little time I can spend with you for now..." She leaned down and whispered against his lips, "...lets make the most of this..." before kissing him fully and coaxing him into reciprocation.

He soon began to move his lips more purposefully against her own in response, caressing her cheek and neck with the utmost care before caressing her collar bone and proceeding further, moving his hand beneath the wide collar of her kimono to rub his thumb over her shoulder and slowly push off the fabric of her clothing. She untied the thick silky ribbon around her waist and let it loosen on it's own as she kissed Neji's lips, jaw and neck, each kiss slow and loving, running her fingers along his scalp and through his hair before gently bringing them back to his chest to help him untie his own haori.

Sakura lay back against the comfort of the cloud as her kimono loosely spread open to reveal her body. Neji hovered over her, having removed his hakama pants, his cloak-like haori open to reveal perfectly unblemished, sculpted skin. The more he kissed her, the more he felt like his soul was feeding off her warmth and love, and he touched her body as if he was worshiping her: gently, with purpose, with feeling. She breathed heavily beneath him as her hands roamed over his chest and up unto his hair before she pulled him down by the back of his neck for a deep kiss.

He braced his elbow beside her face and tucked his other arm behind her back, supporting her between her wings and propping himself up to push his length inside her, slowly. She sighed at the feeling, filling her up and making her hold on to him tighter, her legs coming to rest around his waist as he carefully slid in and out of her, giving her small kisses on her cheeks, her lips, her chin, loving her every single second he spent locked in her arms.

They moved together steadily, gracefully, wings shifting ever so slightly as they panted and whispered words of love to each other and completed each other in perfect synchronization before they reached the peak of the physical manifestation of their love. They closed their eyes and let the bliss wash over them, staying in each other's arms long after the peak of completion had faded, savoring every second of contact they had with each other.

Finally, Sakura kissed Neji's cheek and forehead before whispering, "I have to watch over these people, it is God's will and my mission, and... I have neglected them for too long already…" She sat up gingerly and pulled up her kimono around her shoulders and retied the ribbon around her waist before helping Neji tie his own haori. He smiled at her lovingly, they didn't need to tie their clothes or fix themselves, they could do it with a flick of their wrists if they wanted... but it was nice, it gave them more time... it was very human. Neji knew that Sakura loved everything it meant to be human, and he always felt graced when she shared these moments with him. He kissed her softly on the lips.

"I'll come back and find you when we both have time to be together and don't have any pressing duties to fulfill…" He promised, caressing her cheek and kissing her on the forehead once more before stepping back a few feet, spreading his wings and flying out of her plane of paradise. She watched him leave before looking back down at her happy village. It was already noon and she watched people walk up and down the street in contentment, living their daily lives. Sometimes she wished she could have such a mundane life with Neji at her side, so they'd have more time to spend together. But she was an angel and she had a purpose and she lived to help guide and protect God's creations.


The sun was just beginning to set when she felt it… the hints of darkness that let her know whoever it was, they were definitely attempting to hide their presence, but they could not fool her, not when she was this close. She looked critically over the expanse of the area where she could sense the faint traces of darkness, until she saw him… dressed in black attire, spiked black hair, black eyes, pale, flawless skin and a face with such beauty that she knew it to be inhuman. He walked amongst them as if he had done it many times; she observed as she grit her teeth and grimaced.

Finally he made his way to a deserted clearing and she made her move, unsheathing her archangel blade, she swooped down, invisible to the human eye and landed, cracking the earth with her thunderous power, her wings unfurled, her gaze unwavering as she stared into the eyes of the dark angel. She summoned a barrier before she landed, to keep their fight discrete.

He smirked at her, thoroughly unfazed as she held her sword aloft, "And here I thought I was being inconspicuous…" He voiced, his tone low and smooth as velvet as he tilted his head back and appraised the angel before him in all her luminous beauty.

"Not inconspicuous enough demon…" she hissed the last word venomously, "If you give up information on what it is you are all planning then I will let you go with your existence intact."

The dark angel snorted at that, "You don't scare me angel…" He shrugged his shoulders and tilting his head forward to look at her through his bangs. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with…"

Suddenly, black wings sprung forth from his back, as large and intimidating as her own, and his eyes shifted from black to red, unforgiving and deep as blood. Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed as she mentally recalled the legends of the Fallen Brothers… Abbadon and Azreal, with eyes the color of fresh blood. The power coming from him tasted like pure destruction, with the electricity crackling through the air around him, more so than the cold grip of death... and she realized whom her opponent was.

"Maybe it is you who does not know who they are dealing with…" she growled as she charged at him, sword in hand and watched him quickly summon a black blade and parry her blow, using his wings to fly and dodge her swift second attack. She used her wings to push herself up to his level, blocking his blows inflicting more of her own, and for a while they seemed to be evenly matched. Sakura blocked, kicked, swerved, and attacked mercilessly but was still unable to land a blow. She moved faster, pushing harder, feigned a blow to his leg and twirled in a fraction of a second to scrape his cheek with the edge of her blade. The cut of a holy blade burned him enough to distract him for a second longer; allowing her to land a few shallow blows along his torso which he dodged enough to avoid severe damage.

They landed a ways away from each other before she called out in a powerful voice, "I am Gabriel, Archangel of Heaven…" She watched his eyes widen a fraction as she readied her blade again, "And I will smite you in the name of God if you do not give up whatever information you know… and go back to where you came from."

He only smirked in response, "I guess we're evenly matched then... but you haven't walked the mortal plane in a while, and it shows." Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet shattered and opened faster than could react. She only faltered for a second, lost her footing for just a single moment, and the clang of his blade against her sword echoed as the hilt forcibly left her hand.

She reached for it, trying to right her grasp on it, but by then he had his arm around her waist and he had pressed his hand in between her shoulder blades to release a pulse of dark energy, that he must have been storing and feeding since the beginning of the fight, through her system. Spider webs of grey spread through her wings from the center of her back in that split second and the light in her eyes blew out, giving way to the color of a deep forest green before they closed shut and she lost consciousness. Her blade shattered like an illusion of glass as it returned to the void from where only Gabriel could summon it.

Abbadon watched Gabriel's wings fade into the wind as they were no longer needed by the unconscious angel and willed away his own as he caught her limp body and carried her in his arms. Her barrier fell, and all the damage done to the forest around them was instantaneously mended... such is the power of an archangel.

He smirked.

"Itachi won't believe who I've caught…" He chuckled to himself as he brushed his lips over her forehead, eyes glowing red in triumph as he walked deeper into the forest that surrounded the city.


"An Archangel, brother? Are you trying to bring the wrath of heaven down upon us by taking her away from her post? Why could you not have simply avoided an encounter with her…" Itachi sighed irritably as he gazed at the angel strewn across a modest cot in their underground fortress of a hideout, hidden beneath the village of Konoha.

Sasuke shrugged, "I couldn't resist a good fight…" he muttered as he traced a finger over the cut on his cheek and inspected the other shallow wounds on his torso.

"She was holding back… she didn't want to kill you, she wanted to make you talk…" Itachi also inspected his brother's wounds from his position on the opposite side of the cot.

"I'm sure she'll regret it when she wakes up." Sasuke sneered, flicking his eyes down to the angel, her hair spilling over the edges of the cot, her kimono slightly ruffled, revealing more of her thighs and cleavage than it was intended to. A tempting sight, and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he were to corrupt an archangel.

"We'll have to keep her prisoner until we have finished what we need to do here." Itachi ordered as he left the room to return to his business while Sasuke kept his eyes locked on the immobile form of the angel lying before him. Then he snapped the handcuffs over her wrists and ankles before pulling up a chair from the corner of the room to rest near the foot of her bed and sat, making himself comfortable and preparing to wait for the righteous maiden to awaken.

In his waiting he picked up a hand sized stone and began to chip and scrape at it with a black pocket blade of his creation, an unnecessary action to pass the time and keep his hands busy. He wasn't quite sure what exactly he was drawing out from within the depths of the stone as he carved more and more of it away and by the time he could recognize what it was, he let his confusion flicker to life for a split second before he simply allowed his hands to finish what they had started and apathetically gazed upon the single stone cherry blossom, about four times the size of a normal cherry blossom, in his hand. Then the body on the cot began to stir and he looked up at the angel's face as she slowly regained consciousness.

When her eyes fully opened and the haziness cleared away, she sat up rapidly, her hair an attractive, wild mess and her eyes all afire as she processed her last conscious memories and her current situation. Her eyes honed in on Sasuke's own and narrowed as she glared at him.

"Filthy demon…" she hissed as she dug her fingers into the thin blankets of the cot. "How DARE you lay a hand on me."

Sasuke smirked, "You're lucky I haven't laid more than just a hand on you…"

The minute those words passed from his mouth Sakura's face slackened to fearful disbelief, her complexion paling ever so slightly as Sasuke stood from his chair and walked closer to her. He took her chin in between his fingers and tilted her face up to look at him as he bent down to stare into her pure emerald eyes.

"You'll be safe for now angel… we just need to keep you locked up long enough for us to finish our plans here… then we'll set you free." He gazed at her face, from her wide, guarded eyes to her full parted lips before he let her go and strode out of the room, closing the door shut behind him.

Sakura sat unmoving on the cot staring at the door before she noticed a small weight on her lap and looked down to see a large stone cherry blossom sitting innocently against the vivid red and white of her kimono. She picked up the stone flower in her hands and inspected the intricate work before looking back up at the door.

She wanted to throw the cherry blossom against the hard stone floor, but restrained herself. Instead, she lay back against the pillow and sighed, holding the unexpected gift in her hand, closing her eyes so she could sort through the confusion in her head. A demon giving her a gift of hand crafted beauty, her namesake no less, even if he didn't know it, was still something that she hadn't expected a demon to be capable of. Maybe it was because he was once an angel.

Sighing again, she growled in frustration before allowing herself to sink into quiet defeat.


End of Chapter One. I have decided after reading this story multiple times that I am REALLY bad at starting stories. I think I really tried there to make it a good hook and got carried away and I don't know how to fix it. But anyway, here's the first re-write.

I am a big fan of reviews. I read all of them, and if I ever feel in a slump, I like to go in and re-read your reviews to get myself feeling motivated again. I'm trying to portray what they mean to me, but yea... they mean a lot. So if the spirit moves you, please leave a review.

~Rhea