AN: This story is dedicated to CharlieBrownLover21 for inspiring me to write my own story. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything that has to do with Naruto except the pathetic little chibi doll I have of him… ^^

His Heart of Stone, Her Dying Spirit

In the highest arches of Heaven, a place where most had lost hope to believe in, there is God and his angels. God had many warriors to fight for him at his disposal. But those warriors sometimes lacked the compassion and loving nature one was made out of. There was only one angel who was born to battle but fashioned with love. The only angel able to see God's true visage and hear his true voice.

"Eleion."

And with this unique ability, she would be chosen for a special mission. One that had been attempted only once before. And lest she fail, the world will pay the price.

"Yes Father?" The girl, young and innocent was dressed in all white. Her winding rosette locks stirred slightly with the cool breeze and her emerald eyes shined with curiosity and intelligence and unconditional love.

She had been put to rest in her cocoon-like pouch for the last hundred years, not a long time in angel years. A state of dream where they slept in cocoon-like pouches. If calculated with Earth years, she was barely a year old.

The palace in which the Almighty resided was beautiful and celestial. Everything seemed to be so pure and radiant… all white, it looked like an old fashion temple with high arches and columns. The warmth of the celestial palace was like the warmth of home. A place any soul would feel welcome and loved. In the very far back of the palace, a great throne held the Almighty.

He motioned with a great hand, beckoning her closer so He could whisper to her, His face filled with kindness.

Her bare-footed walk was like she was gliding on the air closer, unsure of what this summoning was about. Her wispy angel wings were transparent, a sign of her age. They trailed behind her like pixie wings, a white mist coming off of them. Her wings weren't even substantial matter yet because of how young she was. When angels were young their wings were transparent. Only when angels were at least a millennia old did their wings become solid and feasible. For an angel to grow feathers, they would be older than time itself.

For a moment, all you could hear was the wind as the Almighty conversed with the young angel.

She pulled away from the Father, her eyes wide with fear.

"Father, has all of this been your Will from the very beginning?" She asked, her high soprano voice trembled.

"Yes, child. I am sorry, it has to be done by you. You alone can achieve this. But there is great risk. No one else must know of your mission. And in order to cross over to the Human Realm, you must fall, young one. You must become that which your brothers and sisters seek to destroy."

"Nephilim." She whispered fearfully. The spawn of angels and humans, illegal creation. They were the abomination that angels destroyed.

The Almighty waited patiently as the young angel fretted and hesitated. She was the one angel that was born with free will and a mind of her own.

She lifted her chin and declared in a powerful timbre, "I accept my mission."

The Almighty nodded sadly. "I had half hoped you would decline. This will be an excruciating task. When you fall, your grace will be ripped from you. Your wings will be cut off. You will not have half of the abilities you possess now because of your hybrid form. You will have a human body, vulnerable to possession by the lowest demons. They will be able to smell your Nephilim scent. Be careful. But once you finish your task, your wings will be restored and so shall your full angel being. And you will enjoy paradise as a resident, not a warrior. You shall rest eternally as a reward for your mission being a success."

The young angel put on a brave face. "I understand."

The Almighty cast a mighty hand, glowing a blinding white light, which engulfed Kiriel completely. "Stay well and on your path, my dear. I bid you farewell and good luck with your new life…

Sakura."

Presently…

The sun was setting, flashing across the sky a medley of colors that highlighted the onyx haired man's aristocratic features. He was standing in a clearing in the middle of a nameless forest that he guessed was somewhere near his old village. Sasuke was well aware that there were masses of people who wanted him dead or at the very least, in jail, and yet, it didn't seem to affect him. His face was turned upward toward the darkening sky, looking almost at ease, despite the murder he had committed several days before. He supposed it was because he had finally achieved his mission by doing so.

The rest of his team had settled down in a cave they'd found a few miles back and then he'd had the overwhelming impulse to watch the sun set, for some unidentified reason and acted on it. When Karin had made to step forward to follow him, he had stopped her with a withering look, explaining that he needed time to think… alone. She had immediately understood the not-so-subtle threat and helped start a fire with the other two men that made up their team.

Sasuke wondered impetuously whether the team that he had left behind was watching the same sunset as he was. The thought made him wistful, painfully so.

His thoughts wandered aimlessly until they settled on a certain member of his team that he'd left behind, knocking her unconscious, and treating her with cold indifference. He wondered idly if Sakura had moved on, but then quickly dismissed the thought. There were three things that he was unquestionably sure of: the sun would always rise and set, there were only shades of gray, and that girl with the bright eyes and the sunny smile he'd left behind would always remain the same.

He let out a weary sigh as his peaceful moment was disrupted. He felt a familiar poorly masked chakra presence enter the vicinity.

Sasuke turned to face the intruder with measured patience.

"What, Karin?" He didn't even have the energy to uphold his arrogant stance.

She suddenly seemed embarrassed, as if just realizing that she had ruined some sort of private moment.

"Oh. I- we, Suigetsu and Juugo wanted me to tell you that the fire is ready and that we've got food." Karin had the decency to be ashamed, for once. It was once in a blue moon that the girl wasn't trying to gain her Sasuke-kun's affections or… trying to get into his pants.

Sasuke nodded briskly and they both headed back to the cave.

Sakura wiped a hand across her forehead, removing the sweat pooling there.

She never expected being a medic easy, but this was probably the hardest operation she'd ever had to do. Well, the hardest operation she – not Sakura – had to do.

Sakura gently removed the offending dagger embedded deep within the patient's chest that narrowly missed the heart with a gentle nudge. She glanced at the patient's face, so serene while he was under.

She dropped the dagger onto a metal plate closest to her. "Dagger extraction successful." She muttered behind her mask.

There were several relieved sighs and shoulders slumped. Only twelve straight hours of surgery and they were done.

"Clean up crew, you take it from here." She took off her gloves and dropped them into the trashcan.

"Yes Sakura-sensei." People referred to her as "sensei" now. She was the head doctor of the whole country. She had surpassed Tsunade's skill by more than half and she was offered many jobs from all around but she stayed in Konoha because she wanted to stay closer to home. Sakura still volunteered at the free clinics from time to time.

She nodded in polite greeting as she passed by people on her way out of the Hospital building. The second she was out, she pulled down her mask and breathed in the first non-sterilized breath of air she'd had in days. Sakura was always in the hospital… she couldn't just leave. There were too many lives to save and it would be selfish for her to waste her time on anything else.

She kept walking until she was in the park a block away from the hospital. Then she sat down; legs crossed and leaned back, soaking in the moment.

It was only starting to get easy keeping up appearances. Before it was hard to get Sakura's mannerisms down and she was sure that her friends had at least noticed that Sakura wasn't herself for a period. What she didn't expect was how easy it was to infiltrate Sakura's defenses. As someone capable of extreme creation and damage, she thought that this Nephilim would at least put up a fight. But something had happened to her that battered her and made her lose hope. The girl hadn't even struggle when she had possessed her. It was almost like she felt relief at having someone else take the reins from her.

Kyoko was busy thinking about this until she felt a slight pressure on the edge of the bench.

She didn't have to open her eyes to know who it was.

"What are you doing here Naruto?" That boy was relentless. He was the person that cared about Sakura the most, it seemed. At first, she pushed him away. But he had somehow weasled his way into Kyoko's heart. Not from the memories of him from Sakura, but of how he was now. Of how much he cared for her. Not really her, but for Sakura. But it was all the same to Kyoko.

She felt him shift in his seat and she knew he was waiting for her to look at him before he answered.

She sighed and opened her eyes, her moment of Zen gone.

"I was… in the neighborhood." His eyes looked everywhere but at her, which was understandable. He was always there for her. No matter what she needed, he gave to her willingly. Especially in the nights when she would have nightmares (she wouldn't tell him about Sakura's visions), he would comfort her. They were bonded in a way no one else was in the country. As unconventional their relationship might be, it worked. Naruto had given everything he could as a man to Sakura… and yet, they were only friends. Friends with benefits, but friends nonetheless. Naruto understood that Sakura was still broken, so he would give her time.

What he didn't know – what no one had seemed to figure out – was that Sakura was not really Sakura. Sakura was gone over a year ago. This was Kyoko. The woman who now inhabited Sakura's body. She didn't think much of her, Sakura was just another host. But apparently a well-known and important one when it came to her boss downstairs. What was dangerous was that Kyoko was getting attached to her host's friends and family. This wasn't supposed to happen.

'Sakura' nodded, her eyes closing once again.

"Just got done with an operation?" he asked carefully.

He was being so delicate with her. Sometimes she honored him for it, sometimes she hated it. From Sakura's memories, it was always him giving her all the attention. Something she had hated and constantly tried to crush. But right now, she couldn't help but thank that he was.

Her eyes opened, this time they stayed that way. Her hands clasped together compulsively. "Yeah."

"Have you slept well?"

It was a test. He knew she hadn't slept yet. She hadn't slept well in a year. For some reason she just couldn't with this host. It was a struggle. Naruto could see it. Everyday she overworked herself with missions or hospital work. She was always doing something and she didn't have much patience with people telling her to slow down. Because if she did… she would fall apart. All of the things she did were to distract herself from the missing piece that each day grew larger in size. It wasn't Kyoko's missing piece, it was Sakura's. Sakura hadn't disappeared when Kyoko had taken over like she was supposed to. Instead, it seemed Sakura was sleeping in the deepest darkest part of her mind.

"Fine." She replied, her dainty but lethal hands curled into fists.

Naruto shifted in his seat so he was facing her. "Sakura-chan, you need to get more rest. You have bruises under your eyes and you haven't eaten. All that weight loss can't be good for you. Maybe you should take a bre-"

Naruto was brave but stupid. Once Kyoko has made a decision, she's not likely to go back on it, a trait she had inherited with Sakura's body.

"Look," Kyoko interjected coolly, "I don't need you or anybody else telling me how to run my damn life, alright? I can handle myself, so just… leave me alone."

Naruto faltered and looked down. Sakura never let herself curse before. That was how he knew that she was serious about it this time, how he realized she was so different than she used to be. They've had this conversation a million times. "Alright." He said, sounding defeated. "As long as you're taking care of yourself."

"I'm fine." She emphasized. It was almost convincing.

Naruto's back stiffened at the well-covered lie.

Kyoko made an annoyed sound at the base of her throat. She'd had enough of Naruto's meddling. Yes, they had a special bond and yes she spilled her guts to him about everything at night. (Everything except the truth about her and Sakura) But last time she checked, the sun was still in the sky and her heart tucked securely in the back of her mind next to Sakura.

She had begun to realize her fatal mistake in making her own attachments to him.

"I've got to get back to the hospital."

There was a slight wind and he was left alone on that bench.

AN: How's that for a first try, eh? Can't say I didn't try, hope I didn't disappoint /