Chapter Fourteen; A Division of The Soul

Sakura

Something was going wrong; I coughed softly as I continued Sasuke's physical, Hidan left to speak with a client of the Akatsuki's about the outerlay of the manor we were going to take down.

Sasuke's health wasn't improving much, He was still feverish and his body still fatigued, His skin had lost a great amount of color, almost mirroring the color of my own.

"Take a deep breath." I said flatly, my hands firmly over his lungs as I pressed chakra in to probe the function they were using with each inhale and exhale.

He did what I asked, and I couldn't find any implications with his vitals, which is what irked me the most, His signs were worse than that of the common cold, although his vitals held around the same effect,

His body wasn't fighting off the illness. His chakra should have expelled most, if not all of it at this point, but I couldn't find what was wrong, and it was making him increasingly sick.

I chewed on my lower lip as I felt his onyx gauze on me; He was obviously frustrated his condition wasn't stabilizing. I knew I shouldn't have been irritated with him, But since my first sacrifice I ached to go through another, the experience… It was just wonderful, like the most fulfilling ecstasy imaginable.

I turned to walk away from the bed where Sasuke rested, but found my wrist caught in his grip, I arched an eyebrow at him, was he in pain?

"Sakura." He said, voice slightly strained, I sighed and took a seat at the edge of the bed, there wasn't much else I could do exactly, I wasn't going to abandon him while he was in this condition, I still cared for him, no matter how much I claimed that I didn't, He was still my first love.

"Yeah?" I said softly, watching him stir restlessly, I knew how infuriating it must be for the stubborn Uchiha to be unable to fight.

"I need to know. Why?" He rasped, his eyes locked on mine, I let out a small sigh, looking out the window, the moon high in the sky. Is it any of his business? Would it be wise to tell him?

"Sasuke," I said softly, "I'm not like you, and I'm not like… them."

I could feel his eyes scanning over me, I know it wasn't an explanation, I know it wasn't enough for him; He never could have imagined I was… this. He grew up with a weak, deadweight girl who had yet to realize the secrets to her life, but I couldn't bring myself to pour my life story out to-

"You know, you remind me a lot of my mother." He grunted, as he heavily lifted himself to lean against his headboard, I reached out in alarm to stop him, but he shooed my hands away, I just stared, waiting for him to finish, a little awed that he would make such a personal statement.

"She was always trying to protect me and my brother, from what our father was, a power-greedy man. She made excuses, and showed us kindness to an extent I have never experienced within anyone but you, Sakura." He coughed, turning to stare out the window, I could only sit silently, folding my hands within my lap,

", but there is one thing that divides you from her. She never allowed the past, to cut her away from what she knew to be right."

My head snapped up, and jade clashed with onyx. Was he- Was he trying to-

A small, humorless chuckle escaped his lips, "You know, I always tried to justify my wronged actions against the leaf with the fact that once I killed my brother, I would have done the right thing, It took the death of my brother to realize I have let her down."

I found myself leaning forward, "You haven't let her down!" It squeaked from my lips before I could stop it, I guess compassion was in my nature, I would always possess the heart of a medic, created for healing.

His onyx eyes turned to slits as he stared at me, a chill running through the room, a small blush formed in my cheeks at my oddly compassionate response to the Uchiha's grief, I returned to my seat at the end of the bed, awkwardly looking away.

"My mother would never have stopped loving my brother, or myself if we had done something even as horrendous as he did, as long as it was to protect our village." He scowled, I sank softly, feeling out of place, and somewhat, wrong.

Something in me was awakening at his words, am I doing what is right? Was it his place to decide if I was? Was it mine?

"Sasuke," I started, staring at my feet, that were now glowing with the moonlight that was now streaming through the windowsill, ", I can't justify what I do. I don't try to. The bitterness I feel will not falter with truth, I will carry it to the afterlife with me. Some things cannot be forgiven."

"Who are you to say that?" He said,

I felt a humorless smile grace my lips, my bangs falling over my glazed jade eyes, "It's human nature to feel grief, hatred, remorse, bitterness, and it's inevitable for me to feel this way, although I no longer desire to bring an end to the leaf. I desire to bring an end to the shinobi way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped, gasping at the pain that came when he jumped. I figured this reaction from him, It sounded bitter, and unfair I suppose. I'm not sure he saw what I did. He was forced to see his family die, but their deaths were quick, humane. I watched the genocide of my entire clan, who were proud, strong people, reduced to nothing.

"You couldn't even begin to imagine, Uchiha. You act like you could, But you can't. I watched the unjust death of my entire clan; I was thrown into another village to be raised by complete strangers. Fearing the powers that resided within me, and now, I've learned who my true enemies are." I hissed, clenching my fists to keep from shaking, the images, the images were here… I could- They were playing again, and again.

"How dare you!" He growled, "I watched my mother, my father, my grandparents… Everyone I had ever cared for die before my eyes! You didn't even know your clan! You- You didn't have to come home to see the bodies of your loved ones. How dare you say I couldn't understand!"

I felt his grip on my biceps; I could see the subtle slip of a single tear, from maddening crimson eyes. For some reason, my anger had bubbled down, I felt empty, and the images no longer hurt me, what was missing? Something inside of me was gone.

I stared within his eyes fearlessly, "Would you like to see what I see? Go ahead, enter my mind, I know you can. I want you to see, I want you to see what separates us."

He looked hesitant, but the moment everything went black, I could feel his influence within my mind.

Sasuke

As I activated my sharringan to enter her mind, I felt no resistance, was she not afraid of the things I could do? I could torture her for hours within her own mind, I could rip apart her confidence, her drive, yet she fearlessly allowed me in.

Was it due to the state I was in? Did she think for a second that I was too weak to control my own Kekki Genkai?

I snorted at the thought, and searched for her memories.

That's when it hit me.

I wasn't intruding inside her mind, she had allowed me in, I was suddenly unable to push back into her mind, however I could feel her influence,

I could see only what she allowed me to see.

Damn it. How was this even possible? The sharringan was virtually flawless, wasn't it?

A scene had cleared through the blackness, It was a large courtyard, filled with blooming cherry blossom trees, Beneath them sat men and women, deep in meditation, They all bore the Haruno crest.

What caught my attention was a single man, who seemed to radiate power, He had flowing lavender hair, and looked like he was in his early twenties. As he opened his eyes, it felt as though he was looking right at me, they were honey colored; they held something that resembled compassion, and wisdom.

"Lord Sagomichi?" A woman said, approaching the man, He gave her a simple nod. So that was his name… Sagomichi Haruno.

"M'Lord. Some people have requested to speak with you, they hail from the village." She nodded; she must have been some kind of servant.

The man stood, and gave a small bow to the others that were meditating; I walked after him, obviously going unnoticed by the others, considering I was looking into a memory. I followed the man through a long hallway.

Soon he turned into a room, where two men sat waiting for the Haruno Lord, who sat across from them, giving them a small bow,

"How may I help you?" Sagomichi nodded, the two men looked old, with thinning white hair, and traditional robes, worn by wealthy scribes.

"The Mizukage requests your leave of this village." The elder man said, I watched as Sagomichi's eyes turned to slits, and the honey had turned to a dangerous crimson, this seemed to bring panic to the men, because they had hopped to their feet in preparation to run.

"The Haruno clan has resided here peacefully for centuries, and as your village made home here we did not disturb you, as your village trained shinobi, we did not attack you. What right do you have to ask our leave?" The once peaceful lavender man sounded calm, but something dark resided behind his words.

The elders seemed to calm, and took their seats once again, although the slight trembling was obvious.

"Your clan in threatening the safety of our people, we ask you come peacefully, or perish." The men warned, I awed their bravery in asking such a ridiculous demand, Even more so that Sakura hailed from a village outside of the fire nation.

"We have never entered your village; those who have come from your village seeking proper training and employment reside here, safely."

The men stood, the older of the two shaking his head sadly, Sagomichi remained seated. His eyes still the dangerous glowing crimson.

"If it means my clan may live in peace, I shall sacrifice my life to prove our intentions contain no harm to your home."

I was taken aback by the words I was hearing, Was Sagomichi going to sacrifice himself in order to provide peace? Tch. Sounded like a Haruno. Foolish and impulsive.

The men froze, and smiled. "Wise choice, Sagomichi."

And then everything was black, once again.

Another scene became vivid before my eyes, I was standing on some kind of stage, and Crowds of people were cheering, but why…

As I turned I saw the lavender haired man kneeling over a block of wood, and a faceless executioner raising a large bladed scythe…

I watched as in one swing, the mans head fell to the ground, the same stoic empty expression remained upon his face. The crowd cheered louder, how could these people accept the death of an innocent man?

I watched one of the elder men who met with Sagomichi before his death appear,

"Storm the Haruno Manor!" He cheered, a fist raised to the air, I watched as thousands of civilians and Nin began scrambling away, holding fire-lit torches and weapons.

I followed the crowd, sprinting to keep up with the bloodthirsty villagers. Why were they doing this? What had the Haruno clan done that had been so unacceptable that an entire clan was sentenced to death?

As they reached the great stone walls of the manor villagers began pounding upon the gates with a large log, trying to break down the gates, Although no offensive attacks were given from the Haruno clan. I stepped through the wall, considering I was simply watching a memory, I could do that.

Inside the manner the Haruno's were still meditating, seeming unfazed by the villagers attempts at entering the manor, even small children looked deep in meditation, Slowly, four men stood, and walked to all perimeters of the stone walls, one in each corner, slowly they raised their arms, A large crimson barrier surrounded the courtyard.

So this was their defense? A barrier wouldn't hold forever, they should know that, they should all be fighting, or escaping, something, anything! Why were they all just standing there?

Something about their response made my blood pump with adrenaline.

And that's when the villagers invaded,

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

It was silent though,

Why weren't they screaming,

Why were they letting this happen?

Why-

The connection broke, and I found myself pinned to the bed, The white haired buffoon snarling above me.

Sakura

Shit, the connection was broken prematurely. This was having bad repercussions. The only reason I believed that was because I could feel Hidan's death-grip on my forearms, as he was pinning Sasuke down.

"Hidan! Stop!" I gasped, He seemed to not be able to hear me, but I felt the painful blow he administered to Sasuke's face, in my own, I gasped and fell to the floor, a hand clapped over my cheek, which drew Hidan out of his blind rage, as he crouched beside me,

"What the fuck!" He gasped, probably seeing a bruise forming on my cheek, "But, I- What the fuck!" He gasped, looking between me and Sasuke.

"You broke the connection of our minds, so I suppose Sasuke and I are linked." I growled at Hidan, popping my jaw back into place as I propped myself up on an elbow, Sasuke was scowling, and had pushed himself to his feet, outstretching a hand to help me up, But Hidan had smacked it away, hooking an arm around my waist, and pulling me to my feet.

"This is all your fault! Fucking little brat!" Hidan spat, drawing his hand into a fist and lunging at Sasuke, who grabbed Hidan's fist, and twisted it behind the his back,

"Are you an idiot? You're only hurting Sakura when you attack me." He hissed.

Hidan looked like he was about to blow up, so I grabbed his arm, and pulled him in my direction, positioning myself between the two men, who looked prepared to kill each other.

"Listen, I don't fucking like this situation any more than either of you, But we need to calm the fuck down, so I can try and find a way to fix this, besides, we all have a fucking job to do, remember?" I snarled at the two, who remained locked in death-stares with each other, but nodded mindlessly at my words.

I found myself grumbling angrily, and snatching my pack of cigarettes from my backpack, and heading out onto the balcony to smoke.

I felt… Filled with rage, for no reason, I felt betrayed, and there was some kind of odd pain, like my heart had dropped to my stomach. Why did I feel this way?

Were these Sasuke's feelings?

"Damn it all!" I growled, stomping my foot a little too hard, and finding myself falling.

"Fuck-"

I looked up to see Hidan looking down at me, His hand clutching my wrist, pulling me back into the Hotel room, "I'm gunna' have to pay for that." He sighed.

I shoved his chest playfully and smiled, "Thanks for saving me, dick."

A small smirk appeared on his face, "You're welcome, bitch."

I noticed Sasuke was no longer in the room, which is probably why Hidan was being so… affectionate. Well- Affectionate for Hidan anyway.

I watched Hidan step closer, and wrap an arm around my waist, and felt a small crimson blush cover my cheeks as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine.

"I hate that fucking brat." Hidan growled silently, I chuckled and leaned against the sliding glass door.

"I dropped my cigarette."

Sasuke

I could feel her.

I scowled as I leaned against the thick tree in which I was sitting in. I couldn't be in the presence of that man for more than a moment. I still couldn't understand the link with mine and Sakura's minds.

It was odd, and not only because of the odd aftermath, but the fact that my sharringan didn't phase her. It felt... It felt like she allowed me inside of her mind, like I was being pulled in, She lulled me in to looking in on… Was it a memory? She couldn't possibly have been alive when that happened, so how did she acquire such a vivid picture?

Was it an illusion? The hatred she held toward the leaf surely wasn't an act, so she obviously believed that that was truly what happened, and who am I to say it didn't,

In less than a week I have learned amazing things about a girl I had grown up with, worked side-by-side with as I child, and yet… None of us truly knew her; none of us truly knew the life of Sakura Haruno.

From the small amounts of information I have gathered, she is powerful, very powerful, the day with Naruto- Something irked be about that, I don't feel like I even got a glimpse of the power she possesses. For Sakura Haruno to strike fear into my mind was infuriating,

But fear of the unknown was expected. Never before have I felt such power, Her chakra seemed to overpower even the Nine-Tails, and the way she yields it… She controls it, better than Naruto ever has, It isn't triggered by emotion like the Kyubi, A small smirk played on my lips for a moment,

Sakura was always excellent with chakra control.

How long would she have played innocent before her secrets surfaced? What would have become of her if she had remained in the leaf? Would she have carried her secret to the grave? Would she have left the village regardless?

Questions, Questions, Questions. With no answers, my blood boiled for answers I would never receive; perhaps Madera would have answers for me, although he seemed too fond of Sakura.

Oddly.

Everything's seemed to have changed, in the worst of ways,

For once, Sakura is the strongest member of team seven, or has she always been? Perhaps she only played innocent, to keep up her façade, to keep her secret. I'll never know.

A fit of coughing forced its way up my throat, I was feeling weaker by the moment, Damn this. What was wrong with my body? Why was it being so weak? I didn't understand. I could endure hours of training, I could yield immense power, but I couldn't fight off a simple illness.

As another cough choked its way up my throat I growled.

Suddenly, I became overwhelmed with… emotions.

Frustration.

And then, I kind of throbbing, in my-

I snarled, unable to control my natural male instincts. Not wanting to imagine what was going on with Sakura and the Imbecile back at the Inn.

As tiredness overwhelmed me I groaned, great, She must be sleeping now, which means I must be tired. Fucking perfect.

I sighed and crossed my arms, closing my eyes as I leaned back further against the tree.

Soon sleep took me.

X

S

X

"Sakura!"

I jumped at the unusually loud voice, Looking around, who was calling for Sakura… and… and where was I?

It was a hallway, dimly lit, The walls were a brilliant red, I searched for some answers, by slowly walking down the hallway, but froze when I heard the padding of little feet, and suddenly, I felt a figure run straight through me, I turned around quickly, eyes wide with surprise to see a small, maybe a five year old girl, with… with pink hair?

Curiosity got the better of me and I followed her down the hallway.

I was lead into a small kitchen, Seeing the small pink haired girl facing away from me, standing beside a woman with waist length white hair, She was an older woman, In white robes, The Haruno symbol in crimson on the back, She was washing dishes.

"Yes Grandma'" The young girl said softly, her voice was so… Innocent, so young. I only watched in awe, they didn't seem to know I was there, but something in the back of my mind told me I shouldn't be seeing this, but that's what drove me to continue watching.

"I'm going to take you somewhere today." The older woman said, turning from the sink as she did so, I caught her eyes, although she wasn't looking at me, but through me, as if I were invisible to her. Her eyes were a brilliant evergreen.

The little girl cocked her head to the side, and I caught a glimpse of the side of her face, It- It was Sakura… Well… Not the Sakura I knew now, but a smaller Sakura, With short, curly pink hair, she was wearing a white sundress, a faded blue stuffed animal rabbit being held by a long ear in her small hand.

"Where Grandma'?" The little girl asked, obviously confused by the older woman's' words.

"It's called Konohagakure. Sakura, I am getting old, and can no longer care for you," She started, kneeling before the smaller version of Sakura, and placing a hand on her shoulder, looking into her teary eyes, "Listen to me Sakura, Never- Ever, let them see your gift, Sakura. No tears. Do you understand me?"

The little girl sniffed, and wiped her tears quickly, nodding vigorously to the woman.

"Yes Grandma'."

And then everything was black, I was confused, was I dreaming? Was this a dream? Something wasn't right.

Get Out.

I looked around at the loud, oddly vivid growling, it- it didn't sound human, it was distorted, angry, not angry… seething, it sounded so real-

Get Out!

I thrust forward, my ears still ringing from what I had just heard. What did the dream mean? It- it was so vivid, like- like a memory, but… but one of Sakura's. I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen something personal.

And that voice…

Through this connection I have with Sakura… Is it deeper than we thought?

Sakura

I lunged forward in bed, my chest heaving and body covered in cold sweats. That dream- Where did that come from? I haven't even thought of that day in years, I was so young, I- I haven't been able to remember in so long.

And Yama. Who was he screaming at? I've never heard him so… Enraged, and now… He was so silent, was it all just a dream? Was- Did I imagine the end? Impossible… My ears were still ringing, I looked over to Hidan, who was grumbling sleepily for me to go back to sleep.

I sighed and laid back into the bed, pushing back my thoughts, and trying to return to sleep, but I had this feeling,

Something wasn't right.

XXXXXX

:D I'm BACK!

Love, Sakura-Centric