A/N: I've been sick for about two days now, and I'm still recovering, so I hope this chapter is ok. I have a pounding headache and looking at the screen is killing me right now, so please don't be mad is my writing is a little off.
Xelagirl2: Deleting this story is the furthest thing from my mind right now so don't be depressed. As long as I keep getting such nice reviews I'll keep writing. You are so nice! It makes me smile to know that my story is good enough to talk about. You deserve hugs! Thank you!
Ayumi-Aldaba: Thank you for the review, I'm glad to hear you read the first chapter, hopefully the story is making more sense now.
EarthboundAngel: Thank you for he review. Also, I like your name, lol.
ELIE: Thank you! I'm glad you have questions cause I plan to answer them all! This chapter has a few of those answers.
Krista: Did I beat the turtle? Lol. Sorry the dream was confusing, basically Sakura was watching Jaaku kill some little girl's dad through the girls eyes, hope that helps. This chapter doesn't explain Sakura's past really, but it explains something.
Susakuru: I'm glad you like my story, thanks for the review!
doggythumper: I update fast cause one of my reviewers threatened to kill me, lol. Also I like to make people happy. Thanks for the review.
Only Secret : PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I promise I wont delete the story. I can't live without my Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun, and Itachi goodies! At least I still have Gaara-kun! huggeles Gaara plushie you are the second person to threaten my life for the sake of this story, good to know it's made an impression. Thank you for you're loving review, lol!
Ruriko89 : Sorry for the confusion last chapter. Sakura basically had another dream and it took place in the same field as the first dream (connection anyone?). The dream was about Jaaku killing some girl's dad and Sakura watching it all through the girl's eyes. That's why Kaori said the screams weren't Sakura's. Kaori knows about Sakura's dreams. Hope that helps! If you have anymore confusion, as always, feel free to ask!
WARNING! I'd like to prepare you all by warning you that this chapter answers one of the questions that I know you are being plagued by. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: If I had a million dollars I still think the rights to Naruto would be too expensive.
O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The day had moved slowly as the team from Konoha made their way to the designated location. Sakura calculated that they would arrive in about an hour. This place was desolate, hardly anyone traveled around here. 'Whoever these bandits are, they sure don't know anything about location,' Sakura thought to herself.
"Hey, Kakashi-Sensei, what are we doing out here?" Naruto whined. "We haven't seen anybody for hours. What was Tsunade-Sama thinking?" He continued to complain angrily. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored Naruto's annoying gripes. He may have been thinking the same thing, but since they were already here, there was no point in mentioning it.
"Naruto, our orders were to stake out the area. If you want to go back and question the Hokage, feel free to do so," Kakashi said. Naruto froze at that. The idea of opposing the Godaime was not something the fox boy was willing to think about.
Sakura noticed that Sasuke was keeping back behind the group. Slowing her pace, Sakura allowed Naruto and Kakashi to get further ahead and let Sasuke catch up to her. The two walked together in silence for a while. Sasuke didn't seem to pay any attention to his pink haired teammate, but he was actually somewhat relieved she was now walking with him. He wanted to keep a watchful eye on her, but he didn't want to be barefaced about it.
"Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura faced him with a curious look on her face. "Why did you fallow me last night?" She asked. Sasuke mentally tensed. He did not want to have this conversation.
"I thought I made myself clear last night. You were out of he camp and I can't look over the team effectively if you aren't there." Sasuke's answer was robotic. That was the thought going through Sakura's head. She let out a frustrated sigh. Some where in the back in of her mind, she had hoped there was something more in his actions.
"If you insist," she said. She brought her thumb nail up to her lips and bit it gently.
"Sakura?" Sasuke stopped walking and faced Sakura. The pink haired girl jerked to a stop, her eyes wide with shock at her teammate's sudden motions. "What happened to you last night? It was more then a bad dream that had you screaming," he said, gripping her arm.
"S-Sasuke!" Sakura yelped in surprise. Sasuke mistook her surprise for pain and removed his hand. "I told you, it was…it was just a dream," Sakura said. She cast her eyes down and bit her thumb nail.
"It sounded like a nightmare. You've been having a lot of those lately." Sakura wasn't pleased by the way the conversation had turned.
"It was just a bad dream."
"Don't lie to me Sakura, you're bad at it." Sasuke smirked at Sakura's pout. "Would you just tell me already, I'm not going to just take your word for it." Sakura gave out a frustrated growl.
"Fine," she said in defeat. "I had a dream about a girl. She seemed really young. Long blond hair, emerald green eyes, she was like an angel." Sakura said, reminiscing about her dream. Sasuke cleared his throat to gain her attention. "Eh, anyway. She was in some field. A forest behind her, a lake in front. Her father was there two," Sakura said.
Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together. "This doesn't sound like a nightmare, Sakura."
"That's not the end." Sakura bit irritably. She didn't want to be talking about this to begin with, being criticized was not any help. "Jaaku was in the dream. He killed the girl's father." Sakura explained. "The weird part was that I seemed to be watching the dream through the girl's eyes." Sasuke shot her a look. "What?"
"I told you Jaaku was after you," Sasuke answered smugly. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why else would you be having dreams about him?"
"That makes no sense. Just cause some creepy dude freaked me out enough to have a bad dream about him doesn't mean anything. He isn't after me," Sakura said.
"If Jaaku is connected to the events in your dream, wouldn't that connect you as well, seeing as you are the one having the dreams?" Sasuke reasoned.
Sakura bit her lower lip contemplating Sasuke's argument. All the facts did seem to add up. Sakura shook her head. She didn't want to be the target of a group of demons. That was crazy. This kind of thing didn't happen to someone like her.
She couldn't deny it though. Sasuke had he right idea, she was smart enough to see it. Sakura groaned loudly. "This sucks. Why are a bunch of demons out for my blood?"
"I can answer that." Sakura and Sasuke looked back at the voice calling them and were met with a powerful wind that threw them into a tree. Once the attack subsided, the duo fell to the ground. Sakura's head snapped up and saw their attacker.
"Jaaku, what are you doing here?" she demanded. Jaaku's ever present smirk taunted her.
"You have a question, I have an answer," he replied. His voice was slimy and Sasuke found himself very suspicious. Standing up along with Sakura, Sasuke stood in front. He wanted to be prepared for anything.
"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it. Otherwise I will kill you," Sasuke threatened. Jaaku continued to smirk. He disappeared in a cloud of smirk and reappeared behind Sasuke. Jaaku reached out for the Uchiha's neck, but Sasuke dodged and tried to kick the assailant.
Jaaku grabbed Sasuke's leg and threw him to the ground. To ensure a lack of fight, Jaaku's foot pressed into Sasuke's chest. He leaned forward and said, "You can't kill what is already dead." Jaaku removed his foot and walked away a bit. Sasuke stood back up and again stepped in front of Sakura. The pink haired konouchi finally spoke up.
"You said you had an answer for my question. Why are you after me?" She demanded.
"Because my dear, your blood is a very important tool," Jaaku stated.
Sasuke growled from the back of his throat. He didn't like playing games, and this one was getting on his nerves. He didn't like that Jaaku was able to sneak up on him, but this was even more annoying. "What do you mean her blood is a tool," he asked. His patients running thin.
"You really don't know anything about this girl do you?" Jaaku laughed. "You have no idea what she is the key to."
"Key?" Sasuke questioned. His arm wrapped around Sakura who stood behind him.
"Yes. Her blood is that of those with wings." Jaaku smiled at the two confused faces staring at him.
"I have the blood of those with wings? What does that mean?" Sakura asked. She moved away from Sasuke a bit, now fully interested in what the demon had to say.
"It means that your blood will purge the earth of mankind." The answer was so calmly given, as though it was nothing. Sasuke choked slightly on this information. He turned to Sakura whose face had become ghostly pale. Her eyes were wide with shock and her body was trembling. Her mind was screaming that it was all lies, but nothing calmed her.
"No, that isn't true-"
"You fool," Jaaku interrupted. "You have no idea how long I have waited. I will kill you and end this cycle once and for all. I refuse to wait for another! Eighteen years have passed since I lost my last chance," he yelled. Suddenly, as though water had been splashed on him, Jaaku regained his calmness. "However, you are no good to me while you are in this state."
Jaaku advance in Sakura, who was too shocked to move, but was stopped by Sasuke. "Not another step, got it?" Sasuke growled. Jaaku grabbed Sasuke's collar and threw him to the side. Sasuke's body connected with the hard ground. When he tried to get up he realized that a shadow, like the demons who attacked Konoha, had appeared below him. Hazy black arms reached up and held him down.
Jaaku stood in front of Sakura now. Her mind was screaming at her to run, get far away, but her body was frozen in sheer terror. Jaaku's scaly hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the ground. Still Sakura didn't fight. Her inner self was shouting non stop. Jaaku tightened his grip. "Lets see if I can't coax those wings of yours out."
That was when Sakura snapped out of her trance. 'He's going to kill me,' she realized. Sakura tried to wiggle free of Jaaku's grip, but she was unable to. A searing pain shot through her shoulder blades as her eyes rolled back. Jaaku's image faded out as a bright light enveloped her body.
"Sakura," a soft voice called out. Sakura looked around for the source bout found nothing. "Sakura." Sakura's eyes then focused on the outline of a young woman, a little older then herself. "Sakura," she called out. Sakura realized that the woman before her was the little girl from her dream, only older.
"Sakura, you need to go back now," The woman said. She held Sakura's hand. Sakura felt something cold slip into her palm. "Go back!"
Sakura felt Jaaku's grip fail and she fell to the ground. Behind her Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke were fighting the shadowy demons. Sakura's eyes darted to Jaaku who was fighting a woman who seemed vaguely familiar to her. The woman was brunette and had violet eyes. She was removing a Katana from Jaaku's arm.
The demon winced in pain. This surprised Sakura. During her fight with him, Jaaku showed no signs of soreness, but this woman was able to cause him pain. "Its been a while Kaori," Jaaku said, nursing his wound. "How is Otone?"
Kaori lunged at Jaaku with anger. "I'll destroy you for what you did to her. I wont let you have Sakura either!" Kaori attacked again but Jaaku moved out of the way. Their fight continued on.
Sakura just sat there, like she was in her own little world watching everyone fight. The sound around her seemed like it was coming from another room, everything was muffled. Her green eyes dropped to her hand were she felt something that was once cold heat up against her skin. Opening her palm, Sakura found an oval piece of white gold with ridges on the back, as though it connected to something.
Sakura's ears popped and all the sound came through finally. Her head shot up to see the fight going on around her. She realized what was going on. After she passed out, Kakashi and Naruto arrived with that woman. They were fighting for her.
"Don't get in my way Kaori," Jaaku threatened. His hand rubbed the side of his cheek that had a large bloodless gash across it. Kaori used her thumb to wipe away the blood from her lips.
"I shouldn't have killed you eighteen years ago, it gave you too much power," Kaori said. She kicked Jaaku in the ribs and pinned him to the ground. She slammed the hilt of her katana into the symbol on his forehead. To her surprise, blood trickled down from the wound. Kaori's surprise turned to amusement. "It didn't work."
The demon below her sneered at her but didn't attack or speak. She had found his weakness. Jaaku and the other demons disappeared. "Kaori?" Kakashi looked up at the brunette. She turned to face him to, a sad smile on her face.
"That Jaaku sure knows how to let someone down easy," she said. Kakashi looked confused for a moment but Kaori nodded at Sakura. The silver haired jounin looked at his student who was shaking now and understood. "He told her."
"Everything?" Kakashi asked. Kaori shook her head. "She deserves to know." Kakashi turned away and joined his team. Kaori just watched from afar. She was content that Sakura was safe for now, and was turning to leave when something the blond boy said caught her ears.
"Ne, Sakura-Chan? When did you get a tattoo?" Naruto asked. Kaori swung around and saw clearly what he had been referring to. Sakura's shirt had two rips down the back that covered the length of her shoulder blades. On the exposed flesh were two neatly painted wings.
Kaori wanted to vomit. Sakura looked up at Naruto with confusion. "Naruto, I don't have any tattoos," she stated. Kakashi's eyes darted to the paled female behind the group. Kaori was scared, that was for sure. He would have to question her later.
"No, seriously Sakura-Chan, you have wings on your back." Naruto insisted. Sakura reached around her back and let her fingers trace the marked skin gently. Flashes of children's faces flooded her mind, each of them surrounded by a white light. Sakura removed her hand from her back. She felt dizzy now. It was as though the world was spinning around her. The last thing she saw was Sasuke's concerned eyes before she passed out.
O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Figures moved around it what looked like the remnants of a village. Once beautiful homes were nothing but charred foundations. This was the grave site of the men, women, and children that lived in the Village of Tengoku. No human could live in the wasteland that was once known as heaven on earth due to the overwhelming stench of blood and the lingering presence of death. It was the perfect place for demons, however.
"Akuma, why did you tell her? If she know about her power it could ruin-"
"You idiot. I didn't tell her everything. I told her that her blood would destroy mankind, but I didn't tell her about the alternative," Jaaku scolded. He turned to his subordinate. "Don't question me. I know what I'm doing."
"I didn't mean to be out of line." the lower demon apologized. The demon was weaker then Jaaku and he was not willing to fight his snake like superior.
"It's truly wonderful really," Jaaku proceeded. He smiled in satisfaction. "Kaori is to afraid to tell the girl anything. Sakura will only know the downside to her heritage, and it will destroy her. That makes it easier to kill her." Jaaku's smirk then disappeared. "I was so close. Her wings were almost there. Damn Kaori."
The lower demon spoke up again. "There are other ways to break a human's spirit though, why did you have to tell her?"
Jaaku stared menacingly down at the demon. With a flick of his wrist, Jaaku sliced his subordinate's head off. He smiled. "How can an angel fly, if she doesn't know she has wings?"
O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: well that's chapter eight. This one took me forever to get out, and no not because of writer's block. My comp had some weirdness that made it shut down every five seconds so I kept losing all my work. --;. Anyway, I finally got the situation under control and I did an all nighter to get this chapter finished up because it may be a week or so before I can update again.
You see, I'm heading up to Vermont on Sunday to be with my grandparents for a few days and when we (my dad, sister, and me) get back, my sister is moving back in. So I'll probably spend the rest of the week moving boxes from her apartment. (She doesn't want to continue her lease since she's moving with her boyfriend to N.Y. in December)
Well, now that you know what's going on in my life (not that it has any relevance to the story) please review. When I come home I want to be surprised with loads of love from all my readers!
Later!
