A/N: LONG TIME NO SEE GUYS! MY COMPUTER IS FINALLY FIXED!

I really didn't expect it to take this long so I'll ramble at the bottom... hope you enjoy!

(the thoughts have now been changed from 'blah blah' to blah blah)

Chapter 4: Earth's Alley

Sakura awoke without opening her eyes to the fluttering of wind. Her lips curved up in a content smile as she took a deep breath of fresh air, but furrowed her eyebrows when she realized how cold it was. With her smile fading to a slight frown, she reached over to the source of body heat beside her and buried her face in the soft fabric. She inhaled again, this time taking in the faint, yet pleasant scent of cinnamon and vanilla. With the patterned beating in the fabric she was clinging on to, she almost dozed off until her blanket vibrated. Her green eyes opened abruptly and she gasped when she realized where she was, gripping the fabric of the angel's shirt once again. Naruto continued chuckling as he observed the startled girl.

"I thought we were all over your little fear of flying."

Sakura pulled her face out of the fabric of his shirt and narrowed her eyes in a glare.

"Well it's not something you can get used to in a couple of hours!" she retorted.

Gathering her wits Sakura twisted her head around to see where they were. The sky had returned to it's daytime blue and all that could be seen below were the white fluffy clouds that separated the sky from the earth below. The girl looked down at her watch.

"It's still only 9:30?"

Naruto turned his head down to get a glance at her watch.

"Yep. 9:30!"

Sakura looked intently at her watch, tapping it as though it would give her the time she expected.

"But it was turning to night again before I fell asleep. It's already daytime?"

"I changed direction a couple of times. We flew to where the sun set, and now we're back where the sun is risen." Naruto responded with a grin.

"I thought you said we were going straight to the meeting." Sakura turned her face from the watch to the boy.

"I thought you should get the hang of flying since your gonna' be doing a lot of it. But we'll go back if you want."

Sakura took one last look at the sky. Turning back to the angel she nodded.

The blond turned his face back up to the sky. The soundless flapping of his wings ceased and the two began to drift slowly down. Not knowing what to expect from the clouds that were steadily coming closer, Sakura's grip tightened on the boy. She gasped as Naruto's wings curled around them both before the white clouds engulfed them. She was suddenly enclosed like a cocoon in warm white wings with only the light protruding from the little openings between feathers. It felt...safe.

Sakura said nothing but tightened her grip even more on the angel and opened her eyes only when she felt the warmth of Naruto's wings leave her. The clouds were gone and the world below was revealed- a hustling, bustling city with people oblivious to the two flying right above them. Sakura flinched as she felt a droplet of water on her nose and she looked up. The angel's wings glistened with water, making the wings look even more elegant than they already were. She turned her face back down to the ant like figures that began to look more like people. She couldn't help but think of the eyes that could be watching her. Couldn't they see her? Couldn't they see Naruto? Pushing the thoughts to the back of her head she readied herself for a landing in the middle of an abandoned park. The angel's speed was steadily increasing as he neared the ground. Before their feet touched the ground, a gust of wind from Naruto's wings stopped them in midair, hanging them an inch above the ground. Gently removing his hand from the underside of Sakura's legs he let her feet find the ground. Shakily, she rested her weight on the pavement with the help of Naruto's hand grasped firmly around her own. Damn it, I feel like a freakin' baby. I can barely walk! She took two shaky steps before she was fully able to move her legs in a (close to) normal fashion. She took a moment to look at her surroundings.

It was odd that there were no children in the park. The leafless trees were softly blowing in the wind along with the childless swings and the birds singing their unique melodies...So peaceful... Naruto took one last look at the girl before he let out a soft sigh and regretfully released her hand. After a couple more steps the girl twisted her head around and smiled.

"Thank you Naruto." She giggled when the half closed eyes of the blond opened wide and his mouth opened ever so slightly in surprise.

"So when are we gonna' get going?" She asked.

After blinking his wide eyes twice, Naruto shook his head and replaced the dumbfounded look with a grin that mirrored that of a fox's. Three marks on each cheek like whiskers adorned his face. Were they there before? She hadn't noticed them- even after she had spent hours talking face to face with the angel. Strange... She broke out of her thoughts when Naruto began to speak.

"Right now! I think you already know some of the people there actually... well except of the rest of the angels obviously but-" Naruto suddenly stopped and tilted his head up. With a slight frown, he soundlessly sniffed the air. Sakura was beginning to get nervous.

"What is it?" Sakura asked moving in an instant to the angels side. Something wasn't right- even she could feel it in the air. The snow that had fallen the night before still freshly coated the ground and the air should have been cold and crisp, yet it was hard to breath. The soft rustling of the trees were silenced as well as the birds that had been singing, leaving only the creaking of the nearby swings. She looked up at the angel to read his face. Fully concentrated he furrowed his brows and pursed his lips.

"Stay close to me... they're here."

Before she could ask who, he moved forward, each of his steps echoed in the empty world that had consumed them. Sakura didn't hesitate to follow and grabbed onto his coat, trailing behind him like a little child.

Her feet were so heavy she could barely move them and each step took an agonizing amount of strength. She stopped abruptly. No way... I'm not taking ONE more step... She let go of the angel and firmly planted her feet on the ground. Before her was the alley where the demons attacked her. With all the proof she had gotten, she definitely believed the demons were real though she still wasn't sure of what they were capable of. As though he could hear he thoughts Naruto reached a hand out and grabbed her wrist gently.

"Trust me Sakura. I won't let them hurt you."

She took a look at the boy before her. No matter how much she wanted to trust him, she still questioned the hand that was held out for her to take in her own. The voice inside her head spoke up. Well... what do you really have to loose?

The girl placed her hand on top of his and they moved forward together. Sakura could feel a cold, beyond the winter weather invade her shivering body and the steam condensed from her mouth into the air. She noticed that some parts of the alley were colder than the others and she cuddled closer next to the body beside her. Naruto's eyes slowly covered the area as though he could see through the walls- if Sakura could actually see something other than the bricks she would think he was challenging somebody... or something. Suddenly, out of the shadows a black arm stretched out to grab Sakura by the ankle. She let out a small scream of surprise that triggered Naruto's attack In a heartbeat he positioned himself between Sakura and the demon slowly seeping through the wall with a hungry grin on it's face. The blond's wing was lifted up high and fiercely crashed down onto the arm snapping it clear off. The demon was sent cowering back into the shadows with a screech. The arm around Sakura's ankle melted like black ice but her attention caught something else.

The angel before her, the one who was so gentle with her, had just given her an example of just how powerful he was. Deadly even Just like she could feel the cold of the demons, she felt his power, though it was heat that radiated off of the angel. The ground below them still trembled after the earthquake caused by the wing had split part of the ground in half. Are all angels this strong? Who was more dangerous? The demon or the angel? Those soft wings she had felt only hours ago were now dense and drooped to the ground as though they were weighted. His feathers began to litter the ground as they fell one by one like dead leaves from a tree.

Naruto was angry and more defensive than usual- though Sakura wouldn't have understood it since she had never seen him in battle. But it bothered him that the demons would attack Sakura before him. Either way a demon was demon and yet his tolerance was lowered even more than it already was when they would harm a friend rather than he himself. Worried that she might think him a monster with the little power he had released, he took her hand again and pulled her close.

Sakura squinted her tearing eyes and covered her mouth with the hand not occupied with Naruto's. The stench of death was overpowering all of her senses as another demon lunged- this one was not as lucky as the last. As it charged, Naruto's wing lashed up and flung the demon straight into the sky leaving a trail of inky black substance in it's wake. Sakura marveled at the work of the angel as he disposed of the demons as though they were nothing but flies... but they kept coming.

"How many are there?" Sakura asked as she shielded her face from the black blood that splattered from the last attack.

"I'm not sure, but these demons-" with a kick, another went flying into the wall, "-have already fought-" a punch "-and by the looks of it-" Sakura ducked as a severed leather wing narrowly missed her head, "they lost the battle."

The attacks ceased and Naruto straightened his posture searching for any more challengers.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked as she peaked behind the white wing.

"All of the demons that have been attacking us are wounded. They must've fought recently and lost. There probably weren't any deaths for them to feed off of, otherwise they wouldn't be attacking us in the daytime. They're restless." He took another sniff at the air and his wings twitched in excitement.

"I'll put an end to this."

Another demon jumped from the shadows and Naruto reached out his hands. As soon as the demon was about to strike the angel closed his hands on the ends of the black wings. The creature began to flail and lash out at anything it could blindly- Sakura could see what Naruto had been saying. The demon's wings were already torn to shreds and blood flowed freely from it's wounds. It was almost sad how helpless the monster was in the hands of the angel, though Naruto did nothing but hold it just out of striking distance.

"Where's your captain?" Naruto spoke firmly.

"FUCK YOU!" the creature spitted as it clawed its fingers into Naruto's arms- though it didn't seem to have any effect on the angel. Sakura flinched as a scream was emitted from its mouth. It turned its blood red eyes to Sakura and bared it's yellow fangs in a grin. Drool was dripping from its bleeding gums and it stopped flailing. Okay. maybe I don't feel too bad for them...

Her body froze when a shadow behind her moved. She felt the shift of Naruto's wing as he prepared to dispose of the demon behind them until she turned on her heel to face it. What am I doing just standing here? These littles shits are nothing! And with that, Sakura reached her fist back and slammed it through the demons stomach. Both Naruto and the demon he was holding stopped to stare at the girl.

"Shit..." Naruto blurted out with a surprised chuckle.

Sakura giggled oddly. She brought her arm back covered in the foul smelling blood. The pulverized demon landed dead with a thud on the black pavement.

"Ew..." She studied the black substance on her arm and tried to wipe it on her jeans, but the unnatural feeling of the creature's cold blood still latched to her skin.

With one last glance at his teammate, Naruto turned to the demon that was no longer grinning.

"So?"

The demon did not respond.

"Why do we need to find the leader- can't we just get out of here?" Sakura asked hopefully. Even if she had calmed down a bit, this wasn't a place she particularly enjoyed.

"These guys are just pawns." He spoke as he kept his unblinking eyes entwined with the demon's. "They follow a leader and if that leader isn't taken out, they will continue to kill." He turned his head to the girl. "Sakura I don't want you to get close to their captain if it appears. They're a lot stronger than these things." He nodded his head to the demon in front of him that continued its worthless struggle.

"Yeah..." She returned to Naruto's side where his wings formed a protective barrier around them.

The little demon stopped his moving. His face broke into another smile full of glee- like an excited child.

"HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!YOU'RE GONNA' GET IT YOU LITTLE FUCKERS!" The demon gave a loud crazy laugh as he bounced up in down in Naruto's grip. It was bizarre that something as gruesome as this little bloody demon could be so happy and obviously, it couldn't be a good sign.

Her assumption was proven right when the demons face went blank. Sakura moved closer to get a look at what the demon was doing when it let out a screeching howl and flailed harder and faster than it had before. The demon's eyes shot open wide and a black vapor like hand exploded through its chest- quickly accompanied by five others throughout its body. Naruto released the grip on the twitching body and it dropped to the ground in a splatter of black blood. Sakura grabbed onto the angel as the echoing steps of the black figure behind the corpse came closer.

"It's about time you showed up." Naruto smiled. Sakura could hear the anticipation in his voice.A bone chilling chuckle came from the shadows.

"Don't get so excited you little brat... I could tear you to shreds in one go.. My little pawns are nothing compared to me." The growling voice left a rumble in the air. The demon stepped out into the light to reveal himself. Sakura gasped.

This one was definitely different than the others. He was at least two times bigger than Naruto and his giant leather wings stretched from one side of the alley to the other. His tattered black clothes had been shredded by something huge- an explosion of some sort. Across both wings and across his chest was a giant white scar- holes had even been put through the wings. Where his left eye should have been was an empty socket, but he still walked forward with smile placed firmly on his damage face.

"You're really messing with the wrong guy pal." Naruto said threateningly.

"Oh am I?" The demon responded. His head shot up and his remaining eye opened up wide.

"WELL WE'LL JUST SEE ABOUT THAT!" It screamed as his feet lifted off the ground. The talons aligning the tops of his wings jutted forward as he prepared to impale the two. Sakura grabbed onto Naruto ready for him to take off but instead he took a step forward and opened his wings.

"WHAT ARE YOU-"

"GET BEHIND ME!" Naruto shouted. Sakura twisted her body around the angel and wrapped her arms around his stomach from behind. Closing her eyes tight she buried her face in his back between the wings. What the hell is he doing?!

Just when she though the body in front of her was going to be ripped to shreds she heard a clash of something the sounded like metal against metal and a ripple was sent through the angel's body. She pushed off of the back to take a look at the scene. Naruto's feathers had hardened like shining white glass- it was just as he had done when he battled the demon pawns but this time the burst of power was constant. The angel and the demon were in a stare down of blue eyes versus red with their hands clasped violently together along with their wings pushed against each other. It was a game of chicken; whoever gave up first and pushed away was the loser but, considering the smirks on their faces, neither was planning on letting up anytime soon.

"This is the second time I've been surprised in battle today... You're not too bad kid. But I'm not gonna give up... besides," the smirk grew wider "you're not the one I'm after."

Six black vapored arms that had, only hours ago, destroyed a demon, stretched out from the demon's back and shot towards Sakura. Naruto bared his teeth and added two times the force to his wings and pushed down harder against the demon's, but it was too late. The arms had constricted her body and she fell to her knees. She opened her mouth to try and breath but only a croak came out as she gasped for air.

"YOU BASTARD! LET HER GO!" He growled through clenched teeth. The demon's smirk only stretched and he applied more force to his own wings. Naruto's feathers began to shed at an alarming rate and his eyes began to turn into a shade of red.

"Oh ho ho waddu' we have here?" The demon chuckled. The eyes that looked back at him were not that unlike his own- red pools that shook with fury. The demon's power was increasing more and more as the life was being sucked from Sakura.

A gurgling growl was emitted from the angel's throat. The demon's eyes widened when he realized the power coming from the little angel he was intertwined with. With a step forward Naruto poured all of his strength into his solid wings. The demon trembled as his own wings failed him with a loud 'CRACK' of breaking bones. The black arms strangling Sakura immediately released her and retreated back to the screaming demon. She took a look at her savior; eyes in a deep crimson were glaring at the now helpless demon that fell to his knees before him. A red glow surrounded the angel and the markings on his face had become darker and more pronounced. His clawed hands, as sharp as his bared fangs were balled in fists. With the little ounce of strength she had, Sakura pushed herself from the ground and got to her feet.

"NARUTO!" She screamed as her feet automatically moved her forward. But the angel didn't respond. She launched herself at him and reached her arm out.

"NARUTO! SNAP OUT OF IT!" She yelled as she grabbed the boy's arm. As soon as her small hand touched the glowing arm, the red cloak surrounding the boy's body dispersed and his face turned to the horrified look on the girl's face. Though the marks on his cheeks were still more prominent than before, his eyes had gone back to their sapphire blue. His face was void of anger and replaced with a look of worry and surprise.

"Sakura-Chan?" The boy questioned. He stared blankly at the girl with glazed eyes. At a loss for words at the angel's strange behavior, she just held onto his arm and stared into his eyes. Blinking a couple of times, his eyes focused.

"Are you okay?" He placed both his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. The corners of Sakura's mouth curved slightly upwards into small smile and she nodded.

"OH THANK GOD!" The angel blurted out as he grabbed Sakura in a giant bear hug. Struggling against the chest her face was smothered in, Sakura pushed hopelessly muffling out as much as she possibly could.

"Naru..geofff...me...FUC-" With a giant shove the angel nearly tripped over his feet but caught himself at the last minute. He looked stupidly over at Sakura and laughed nervously raising his hands in a surrender as the disheveled girl raised hand in a threatening fist, shooting daggers from her eyes.

"Jesus fucking Christ..." She muttered as the boy cowered behind his hands with his shoulders hunched. Naruto had battled countless demons but damn. Sakura was fuckin' scary.

"HEHEHEHE..."

Both jumped and turned their heads to the demon that lay forgotten on the ground.

"Both of you... will lose you lives being careless like that..." The demon growled under the

black messy hair covering his face. With an earth shattering scream, a large buzzing of wings filled the air. From each shadow came a demon pawn until the sky was covering in black winged creatures. Naruto grabbed the frozen Sakura and leaped into the sky avoiding the the swarm of sharp talons that were closing in on them. Landing on the roof of a building, Naruto held Sakura close.

"I need you to do something Sakura!" Naruto said quickly as the swarm turned their attention upwards towards their pray.

"WHAT?" Sakura managed to blurt out as the wind was knocked out of her from another leap. Her eyes widened when she saw the damage done to the spot they had just been on. The debris of the side of the building fell into the alleyway with a quake.

"I need you to think of something happy!" Naruto yelled over the screeching.

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME? HOW THE FUCK TO I THINK OF SOMETHING HAPPY WHEN-" The last word came out as a squeak when Naruto leaped again. With another harsh landing Naruto spoke again.

"I know it might be hard but I need your help. Think of something happy!" Naruto repeated.

"OKAY OKAY JUST KEEP MOVING!" She yelled as the barrage came back. Naruto quickly sprung back into the air.

Naruto looked down at the disgruntled look on the girls face. If he didn't get Sakura's help he would be in big trouble. No matter how weak these pawns were, he wouldn't be able to fight a whole army on his own. With a twist Naruto dodged another attack.

"SAKURA!"

"OKAY OKAY I'M TRYING!" The girl yelled frantically as she held herself closer to the angel.

"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts...shit." The girl muttered over and over like a mantra. To her dismay, it wasn't working very well. When one is faced with an army of angry stinking creatures that look like gremlins, it's particularly hard to have good thoughts- especially for Sakura. After everything that had happened in her life, she couldn't think of anything happy. What is wrong with me? There had been so many tough times, but weren't there any good ones? She doubted picturing Ino's butt breaking through a window would be strong enough to do squat... But then what had she been so happy about when she was talking to Naruto?

Naruto stayed in the air rather than landing again- they had already made a huge mess. Thank god nobody's around. He thought. He could tell Sakura was trying to think of something but she couldn't do it.

"You need to relax Sakura. Think of anything that's ever made you happy." He wrapped his arms tighter around her and stopped the flapping of his wings as he covered the form in his arms like a cocoon, just as he had done earlier.

Sakura opened her eyes when the screeching suddenly died down into nothing and the only sound she could hear was a soft heartbeat echoing in her ears. If it was hers or the person she was holding onto, she didn't know, but whose ever it was, the patterned beating and the comfortable heat from the wings surrounding her calmed her into a peaceful state. Something happy? Anything...Something...

happy...what had made her so happy that morning?

Naruto smiled in triumph when a green light seeped through his wings. Opening them in one swift movement Sakura was revealed. She still held onto the boy with her eyes closed tightly, but a powerful green glow surrounded her body. The demons changed their direction for the last time and charged. Naruto closed his eyes as he began to focus his power. A blue glow slowly appeared until the angel and the girl were encased in a glowing sphere of green and blue. With a sharp movement of his wings, an invisible wave burst through the air. Sakura opened her eyes when she felt the same warm chilling ripple she had felt that first night. With a gasp she started.

A flock of shining blue butterflies swept past her face. They looked almost fake and so fragile that they could break at the faintest breeze. Their wings flapped slowly as though unaware of the battle before them. Time seemed to slow down...

But their peace broke when, on command, Naruto's wings reached forward, and the butterflies burst into a spiral towards the flying demons. A look of awe struck each pawn's face, stopping in midair before the beauty of the butterflies engulfed them. Sakura watched the endless waves of blue cascading through the sky. She looked to the side at the source of the butterflies- born from underneath Naruto's feathers. Reaching out her fingers, she put her hand in front of one of the white wings. As a butterfly flew out from under one of the feathers, it changed into a blue vapor and wove through her fingers. With a startled gasp she retracted her hand, fearing she had destroyed a comrade of some sort.

But... are these even...real?

The gentle creatures slowly parted from the tightly formed flock and branched out. The depressing alley was revealed. Naruto alighted down and placed the Sakura on the ground. His eyes never left the awestruck girl watching the butterflies above. The wind returned along with the sunlight that was filtering through the wings of the blue creatures. He watched the expression of pure joy fall to one of sadness as they slowly fell. One by one, a butterfly fell leaving a trail of golden dust in it's wake. Upon reaching the ground, clusters of flowers blossomed. Naruto watched the girl through the raining butterflies. She spotted one that hadn't fallen and reached out her arm. The fluttering butterfly landed on the tips of her outstretched fingers.

"Y'know they're usually afraid of everyone else except for me." The voice spoke from behind her.

Sakura turned toward Naruto who had his grin back on.

"And I've never seen them turn into flowers like that." He nodded his head towards the alley.

Sakura turned to look at the hellhole she had learned to hate so much- but it was transformed! Flowers crawled up the sides of the walls and the littered the ground. The dark alley was brightened by the sun above giving the flowers a surreal glimmer. She had never seen something more beautiful in her life.

A mixture of heaven and Earth in one alley...

A/N:

THE RAMBLING WILL NOW COMMENCE!

Once again I apologize to my readers that I posted WAAAAY later than expected but I was having major computer problems. But now that's fixed so I'll try to spit out a chapter once a week- unfortunately, as you all know from previous rambling, my teachers are CRAZY. However much I hate to admit it, school must come before the story (even though I love writing my stories so much more than school work!)

Thanks to all of my readers I've finally reached over 1000 hits! YAY!!!!!!

Please, I ask again, review!!!!! Any comments or suggestions would make me happy!

Anyway, this chapter is confusing AGAIN like the others (more will be explained in the next one) and you're all probably like "UUUHHHHHH WTF?" buuuuut it will make more sense later on.

I still can' believe I'm writing a story- I think this is the most I've ever written in my life!

The next chapter will be called "The Third Teammate"

Thank you again! You're all my favorite people ever!!!!!!!!!!