EDIT: Fixed some errors

Warnings: AU Universe. Slight Konoha bashing. Dark fic. Violence. Blood. Gory scenes. Lemon scenes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter Thirty Seven: Rie

"To be afraid of nothing is to be a fool. To stand up and face your terrors is to be truly brave." - Toshigaki Hiore

XXXXXX

Toshigaki Hiore sat in his throne-like chair, reading a black tome of some sort, with it being written in a strange language that seems to be only decipherable to him. The stone ceremonial-like chamber that he is in was dark, with the only lights visible being the flame torches on the walls.

The leader of Raven's Gate said nothing for several moments before he closed the tome that he's reading. "People's hearts are truly weak, are they not, Zeref?" Hiore looked up only to see the first Tatsuyama almost melting out of the shadows, an emotionless look on his face. "Humans are so weak. Everything that they do is to destroy or betray. It's rather sad. That's why the only absolute thing in this world is power. You of all people should understand that." He slipped the tome into the folds of his coat. "War does not determine who is right—only who is left. It's rather sad that only those left behind understands that."

Zeref said nothing for several moments, not showing that Hiore's words is getting to him. He then shoved his hands into his pockets, meeting Hiore's eyes fearlessly. "And you of all people should know that your typical fear tactics will never work on Sayo and Madara," he said bluntly. "They're survivors, first and foremost, having came from an era where surviving is all that we do." Zeref narrowed his red eyes at Hiore. "And if you want my advice, I'll advise you to stay away from Sayo. Whatever dirty tactics that you use will never work. Sayo will see it coming from a mile away. She will always be one step, two steps, or even three steps ahead of you. She's the best tactician in the world for a reason." He paused, giving Hiore time to digest his words. "I've known Sayo for a long time, and I never saw anyone who went against her come out alive. Never. It is said that Uchiha Madara is the one to be feared. But in actual fact, his wife herself is more dangerous."

Having said his piece, Tatsuyama Zeref then turned to leave the chamber, the ends of his coat swishing against his legs as he did so. Before leaving however, he paused slightly in his step, aware of Hiore's eyes on his person. "Like Madara and myself, she's a survivor. She had always been. No matter what, she'll definitely survive. She always does."

XXXXXX

The atmosphere in the village of Konoha is almost…tense, the same in nearly every single village on the continent these days – ninja or civilian.

And with the recent reports and sightings of the 'demons', really, who could blame them? Even a simple venture out to one of the training grounds just outside the village when just a few short years ago is almost as safe as walking into the backyard of one's own home could mean instant death nowadays, as no one knows just when and where the demons might appear.

Hence, ever since the sightings of demons have became a frequent business, the ninjas of chuunin rank and higher have been sent out often to combat the threat of the demons in Fire Country. Also, the number of ninjas that now patrolled the streets of Konoha had increased as a result. Even the number of guards that were stationed at the gates had increased, ready to deliver any news to the Hokage in a moment's notice.

Particularly the ninjas of Jounin rank and even the ANBU—even when they're off-duty. There is an almost tense rigidity to their movements even when they do something as simple as walk down the streets of Konoha, and there is a noticeably increase in the number of weapons that they usually carry. Nearly every single weapon shop in Konoha is at a severe shortage of weapons as a result—for the first time ever since the Third Great Shinobi War. For lack of a better word, the ninja population of Konoha seemed almost jumpy—tensing at the slightest sound that reaches their ears, readying their weapons at the slightest sight of danger, and even a simple stroll down the street will have any ninja watching their back carefully, watching the shadows.

It wasn't just Konoha in this state of unease either, but nearly every single ninja village on the continent, even the civilian villages.

Hence it is why one afternoon could find Hibiki (Hyuuga) Neji, Kaiga (Nara) Shikamaru and Hatake nee Hanesawa (Haruno) Sakura being seated at a teahouse in Konoha, heads bowed and whispering anxiously.

As this is the common sight in most shops and eateries in Konoha these days, the civilians took no notice, but tried hard to not listen into their conversation.

"I don't get it." Sakura was saying. "Things are changing too much and fast for our liking."

"You mean with the demons?" Shikamaru asked, and Sakura nodded.

"That too, and with this Raven's Gate." Neji pointed out. "It seems to me like they're more dangerous than the Akatsuki that we have to deal with back in our time."

Shikamaru almost groaned at that. "Troublesome," he groaned. "The Akatsuki is already troublesome enough back then. And if this Raven's Gate had their cunning and their ability, and not to mention more dangerous, then we're doomed."

Sakura was about to open her mouth to say something when there's a change in the air, and all three Jounins tensed as they sensed a shift in the atmosphere as well as the sudden appearance of someone's chakra, and they readied their weapons. They relaxed however, at the sight of a masked ANBU that appeared before them, decked in full combat gear.

"My apologies." The ANBU apologised, saluting his superiors, particularly Neji who is the Oinin Commander, not that anyone outside of those serving in ANBU and his friends knew that. "But you have an urgent summons from Hokage-sama. Hibiki-taichou, Kaiga-san and Hatake-san, you three are wanted in the Hokage's office immediately."

Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru exchanged quick and worried looks. These days, whenever all three of them were summoned to the Hokage's office at the same time, especially with the high ranks that they each held, it never means good news.

"Let's go." Neji muttered, getting up from his seat and leaving the teahouse quickly. Sakura and Shikamaru followed suit. The latter looked up at the sky even as he followed his two friends towards the Hokage Tower.

It might just be Shikamaru, but the skies looked almost ominous that day, despite the fact that there isn't a cloud to be seen in the sky that day.

'I got a bad feeling about this.' Shikamaru thought wryly.

Hatake Sakumo, Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hizuren, Jiraiya of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade, Katou Dan and Namikaze Kushina were all in the Hokage's office as well, all with worried expressions on their faces, when Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru arrived.

Taking a look at the ninjas currently assembled in the room, the bad feeling that Shikamaru had came back ten fold. It always means bad news whenever Minato assembled all the ninjas holding the topmost ranks in the village in one place at once.

Namikaze Minato looked both worried and concerned, his desk littered with scrolls and papers of all kinds. In fact, no one had been able to see their Hokage's desk for nearly a month now.

With the crisis now hitting all the elemental nations, a war council had been assembled in Konoha, and as such, the trivial stuff like the civilian affairs and even the ones concerning the Academy and the D-rank and C-rank missions have been placed in the hands of a team of senior chuunins.

"Sorry that we're late." Neji apologised even as he closed the door behind him and took his place by Shikamaru's side even as Sakura took her place by her husband's side.

"No. You're right on time." Minato shook his head even as he activated the silencing and privacy jutsu in his office, indicating that this is going to be quite a serious discussion – one that shouldn't reach just about anyone's ears. "I have here reports from our various scouts, and even messages from Suna." He paused for a moment, looking from face to face, a serious expression on his face. "I'll make things clear here: the land of the Dragonfly is no more."

There was deadly silence for several moments as everyone in the room tried to ingest that bit of information.

While not an overly large and powerful country, the land of Dragonfly is powerful in their own right. Specialising in the art of genjutsu, while their ninja village isn't as renowned or powerful as any of the Six Powers, they are well known and respected. It was only a few years after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War when they have signed an alliance with Konoha, not too long after Taki and Suna have signed one with the Leaf Village.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked at last. She has no doubts that Minato is most probably telling the truth, but there is a part of her that doesn't want to believe it. If this is true, then the 'demon invasion' like what everyone is calling it these days, had just claimed their first ninja village casualty.

Minato nodded tiredly before exchanging looks with his wife. "The information came directly from Tsuki two days ago by their fastest eagle-hawk messenger," he informed the room, much to everyone's surprise but Kushina, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hizuren and Danzo, as the latter five have been in a meeting with Minato when the letter had arrived from Tsuki. "And our scouts have just confirmed the information a few hours ago. Even before that, we have heard rumours of the destruction of the land of Dragonfly from Suna and travelling merchants."

"Tsuki asked for our help in making sure that whatever survivors there are from the land of Dragonfly find help and medical attention from Konoha, as both our villages are allies." Kushina added. "A team of Tsuki jounins have been completing a mission in the vicinity of the land of Dragonfly two days ago. They felt something off when they saw smoke and destroyed buildings from where they are, and went to investigate. Tsuki and Suna have been sending whatever people that they could to help the land of Dragonfly for the past two days. But as every single village had been facing the same problems of the shortages of manpower and supplies these days, there isn't much that they could do but advise the survivors to head for Konoha for help."

"Is it…the demons?" Sakumo asked carefully, and Minato nodded tiredly. "In that case, they have claimed the first ninja nation casualty. The land of Dragonfly, while they aren't as renowned and powerful as the Six Powers, they are in no way weak either." He concluded with a frown. "The fact that the demons could completely overwhelm them without giving Dragonfly the chance to signal for help means that they're more dangerous than we'd initially thought."

"That's not all that Tsuki had told us." Minato said wearily, and a sudden tense atmosphere surrounded the office once more. "The Raven's Gate organisation… According to their Intel, they're on the move."

"How much can we trust it, Minato?" Tsunade asked with a frown.

She was there when the civil war had gone down during the early years of Konoha. She knew how dangerous that that organisation are. But Konoha hadn't heard anything of the sort, and Raven's Gate supposedly had some of the most dangerous shinobis on the continent, from what she know, along with that immortal leader of theirs. News of this sort shouldn't be able to escape their ears. And then again, Konoha wasn't even aware of Raven's Gate's revival up until three years ago when Tsuki had filled them in.

"If it's from Tsuki, we can trust it." Surprisingly, it wasn't Minato who had spoken but Jiraiya. The spymaster had a solemn and serious look on his face. "Their spy networks and Intel are the best in the world. There is no way that they would have bad or wrong information. The fact that they're even willing to tell us this much means a lot." The Toad Sage added, and Danzo nodded in agreement.

"Like what Sayo-san had said." Minato had shrugged, not noticing the slight flinches from Neji, Shikamaru and Sakura as he said her name. "This isn't a time when the ninja nations can afford to fight amongst ourselves. We need to stand together just this once, working against a common threat that threatens to end all our existences."

"Normally, I would object to such a suggestion." Danzo said bluntly, and everyone in the room turned towards him with shock. "But just this once, I will say that we have no choice. Not unless all of us want to die before the year is up." He finished, not forgetting what his teacher had told him three years ago, and what information that he'd been receiving so far from his spies.

Hizuren frowned. "How goes the talks with Iwa and Kumo?" he asked Minato, knowing that the young Hokage had been engaging in constant correspondence with the kages of those villages, negotiating for a possible temporary truce and alliance until the demon threat and the threat that is Raven's Gate is over.

"Not good." Minato sighed. "While they are ready to accept the fact that this 'demon invasion' and Raven's Gate is a big threat, they aren't willing to accept Konoha or Suna's help, claiming that they could handle it."

"Are they idiots?" Kushina scowled. "Who cares if we're not allies or even former enemies? We're talking about survival here right now! How many villages have been wiped out from each nation now? Every single nation on this continent had at least ten civilian villages wiped out in the past three years!"

"Be that as it may, but we can't force them to do something that they don't want to." Minato told his wife. The blonde Hokage then sighed again. He found that he had been doing that a lot ever since the whole 'demon invasion' thing had started. "Anyway, I need to send a task force to escort the survivors from Dragonfly to Konoha. Some Tsuki and Suna ninjas have been escorting them part of the way, but they have their own assignments, and I told the kages of those two villages that I will send out our own ninjas to make sure that the people of Dragonfly reaches Konoha safely."

"With your permission, I will like to lead the team." Shikamaru voiced out, much to everyone's surprise. The head tactician of Konoha looked grim and worried. "And I want Sakura and Neji on my team."

Minato nodded. "I was going to ask you to take this mission," he said, scribbling something on the paper in front of him. "Also, I need someone to head to the civilian militia village ten miles from Konoha to check on them…"

XXXXXX

Tatsuyama Zeref glanced around, feeling a slight pang in his heart, and a twinge of guilt even as he surveyed the remains of what was once the proud ninja village of Dragonfly.

What was once a lush and bustling village with shops and houses now remained only ashes, with the ashes being scattered by the winds that blew through Zeref's hair. The strong scent of burning could still be smelt in the air, along with a certain smell that Zeref is quite accustomed to by now – the smell of destruction. The hungry flames that have consumed the land of Dragonfly, thus claiming quite a number of lives in the process had long been extinguished by now.

There were even several dead bodies on the ground, several broken and twisted. Flies and carrion birds were already circling close to the corpses that must have been dead for several days by now, eager for their next meal on the dead of Dragonfly.

Zeref felt something churn in his stomach at that. Being the first head of the Tatsuyama, he has a connection with Death that not even he himself understood fully. But the last thing that he wants is to see the dead body of something living—be it human or even animal—being feasted upon without even given a proper burial.

"Just this once," Zeref whispered, holding one hand out and focusing his power, closing his eyes briefly, "I'll send you on your way. I can't give your bodies a proper burial. But what I can do is something close to it."

Right on cue, dark black flames erupted around every single dead body in the vicinity, licking at it and consuming the flesh and bones slowly, thus allowing the particles of ashes to be blown away by the wind.

"War does not determine who is right—only who is left. It's rather sad that only those left behind understands that."

"To be afraid of nothing is to be a fool. To stand up and face your terrors is to be truly brave."

"It takes a minute to crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to fall in love with someone. But it takes a lifetime to forget someone."

"I told you that I'm afraid of dying, but I think that being left alone in this world is much more painful than death."

Zeref sighed as he turned to leave. He wasn't sure what he was really expecting when he came here. But it's definitely not to see this. Even as he turned to leave the village, the toe of his boot caught against something just then, and he looked down only to see a small leather bound book half buried beneath some broken and charred planks.

Frowning, Zeref bent down and picked it up. The colour of the leather bound book seems to be originally green, but the colour had long since faded and had became charred by fire. Most of the contents and the pages have similarly been eaten away by the flames that had claimed the lives of the citizens. Only a single line could still be seen on the only page that is legible.

This is the way that the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Staring at the single line for several moments, Zeref finally let the leather bound book fall to the ground by his feet, watching even as the binding that had already been weakened by the attack weakened even further by the abuse to it, and the pages that made up the book scattered and was blown away by the wind.

"It will soon all begin." Zeref whispered to himself, staring at his right hand and clenching it into a fist slowly. 'Sayo, you must hurry. I've already done all that I could. You must hurry, before the Darkness consumes us all…'

XXXXXX

He fell to his knees at the sight of her mangled corpse.

If truth be told, he knew that he only had himself to blame, for tempting the hearts of those weak fools the way that he did. But at the end of today, they'll be dead fools.

"How dare you kill my mother—?!"

He saw the flames even before he saw the house. Still covered in blood from the people that had killed his mother, he ran faster than he had never ran before, hoping that he'll make it in time. After all, he knew that his mother would come back, even if it were ten years or even fifty years from now.

He has all the time in the world.

But her. His sister. His beloved sister…

Unlike himself and his mother, she is not immortal. And she always had a weak body. Hence why his mother is always trying to find some demon plant to make his sister stronger.

Unlike his mother, if his sister dies…

His eyes went wide as his house at the top of the hill came into sight, and standing outside the burning house with a pleased expression on each of their faces was…

His face contorted in both rage and fury, he screamed, "RIE!"

He laid her motionless body down on the ceremonial table, with it being surrounded by flowers of all kinds. She looks so peaceful, almost as if she's simply sleeping.

"I'll bring you back. I swear." He told his sister's body, almost as if she could still hear him. "I don't care how long it takes me. I'll bring you back, no matter what it takes. You and Mother… You both never did anything wrong. I'm the one that has sinned, and yet, you both are the ones that have to pay the price for it. It isn't fair." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "They'll pay for it. I will never forgive them for this! The world will know my pain, and they will burn from it!"

Please… I never wanted any of this… My brother… My big brother… Please help him… Please… Come to me… Please… Help me…

Uchiha Seina stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, breathing heavily almost as if she'd just run a marathon. As she turned her head to look at her digital clock, she saw that it was just after three in the morning, and that means that she'd barely gotten four hours of sleep.

Seina almost groaned as she leaned back into her pillows, wishing that she can just go back to sleep, but knew that it was futile, as she felt almost wide awake right now.

'What is that dream?' Seina wondered, staring up at the ceiling above her. 'It felt too real to be a dream. It is almost like…memories. And that boy… He looks almost like…' Seina narrowed her eyes even as she recalled the features of the boy in her 'dream'. '…Toshigaki Hiore.'

XXXXXX

"Sorry, for dragging you both with me even though you're so busy." Seina apologised even as she led the way through a winding path in the mountain. Honestly, Seina has no idea how she even knew where she's going. She just does.

"Well, we both need a breath of fresh air." Sayo told Seina. "And furthermore, the way that you described those 'dreams' of yours bothers me." She frowned. "If I have to put it into words, it sounds almost like foreseeing dreams. There are some people with that ability back in our time. But in your case, it is almost like you're seeing the past."

"You know, now that you mention it, it does seem that way to me." Seina admitted. "I think that's it." She spied a gray door by the side of the mountain, almost hidden by ivy and plants and even creepers. It is so well hidden that she could have missed it entirely if she hadn't been looking for it.

"Seems like no one has been here for some time." Madara remarked even as the three of them approached the door. "And honestly, if Seina hadn't told us about this place, we wouldn't even know that this mountain existed."

"I've actually heard rumours about it during the shinobi clan wars." Sayo admitted even as Seina tried to find a way to open the door. "From what I've heard, this mountain was originally used by onmyoujis and even mediums in training. Remember that back then, things like demons and spirits are a common issue. Hence, the people of their trade are pretty much in demand. They often came to this mountain to train."

"Well, I was never really a believer or very interested in things like this, hence, I don't really listen whenever you and Father talked about it." Madara admitted.

It is true that things like demons and spirits have been a common thing during the time of the shinobi clan wars, and several civilians, usually the feudal lords or daimyos often have problems with possession or even hauntings. Hence why the Daimyo's Court had often appointed a royal onmyouji.

The ninjas have never really placed much faith in things like that, though they do respect the onmyoujis and exorcists for their work and vice-versa. As ninjas are usually spiritually strong thanks to their usage of chakra, there is no danger of them being possessed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sayo huffed, annoyed.

Seina called out to them both just then. "Hey, can you both give me a hand here? This door is stuck or something. I can't get it to open." She grunted, struggling with the door. But no matter how much she pushed, she simply can't get it to open.

"Let's see." Madara approached the door, and Seina stepped aside to give him room.

The Uchiha frowned as he felt the door beneath his fingertips. The material that this door is made from doesn't seem to be that of anything that he'd ever seen before. He then scanned the door up and down several times before his sharp eyes caught sight of a small design carved into the side of the door, almost hidden by the ivy that had grown over it. Pushing the ivy aside, his eyes widened a slight fraction as he saw that it seems to be some sort of seal, but not one that he had ever seen before.

"Sayo, can you take a look at this?" Madara called his wife over. "Is that some sort of seal?"

"Where?" Sayo approached her husband, and he pointed out the seal that he could see. The redhead frowned as she studied the design for several moments without saying anything before she turned towards her husband and her best friend. "It seems to be a lock seal – one that was commonly used for top secretive places. We used those too for some of the rooms in the Tsukikage Tower like the Archives and such."

Madara and Seina both nodded. There are certain rooms in the Tsukikage Tower that have special locking seals placed on it that only allows certain selected individuals access, as their chakra is keyed into those seals.

Rooms like the Archives or even the Records Room, as those are places where they have stored all their files on their ninjas, past and present, and even records of jutsu, seals and techniques, and even on the individual clans in the village. There were even records on foreign ninjas and other villages stored in those rooms. Hence, access to those rooms is highly restricted, and only a selected few outside of Madara, Sayo and Seina have access to those rooms.

Sayo then frowned as she turned to look back at the seal. "But I've never seen a design like this before," she admitted. "Probably, like most sealing seals, it has the same mechanism. It probably only responds to the chakra and the blood of the person who'd placed it here. That's probably why we can't open the door."

"Can't you bypass it?" Seina asked curiously. She knew how good Sayo is with seals, since she'd created nearly every single seal that is in existence now.

"Well, I can try. But as I'm not sure if there are any other seals that have been placed behind this door as a self-defense mechanism, I'm not sure what will happen." Sayo warned before she unsealed a blank scroll and a brush from one of the storage seals on her arm and set to work.

Seina and Madara watched in silence even as Sayo drew several designs on the blank scroll, drawing a seal of some sort before she placed it against the door. After a moment, the seal on the door as well as the seal on the scroll glowed before there is a loud click, and the door then swung opened slightly.

"Well, let's go in." Seina said after several moments of silence.

Madara was the first one to enter, wary of any enemy that might be lying in wait for them. Not that he thinks that Sayo and Seina can't handle themselves. It's just in his nature to protect the two women the way that he and Izuna have always done ever since they're kids.

To his surprise, the inside seems to be some sort of chamber, and it isn't dark or even dusty in the least. He has no idea where the light source seems to be coming from, but upon closer examination, the walls seem to be almost glowing with a pale silver light, hence giving them some visibility.

There were even flowerpots laid by the sides, and the flowers don't seem to be dying anytime soon, despite it being obvious just from the door that they have just stepped through that no one has been here for a long time.

And at the end of this chamber is a stone ceremonial table with flowers scattered over it. The body of a young female girl is lying on it, looking as if she's merely sleeping.

Seina let out a gasp as she laid eyes on this girl. "I saw her in my dream," she said. She studied the girl for several moments. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen with sleek black hair and pale skin. She looks extremely beautiful, and yet also vulnerable, also dressed in clothes that Seina doesn't recognise in the least, as it doesn't seem to be that of clothes that she had ever seen before.

For a moment, the three ninjas stood in silence, staring down at the body of the young girl in front of them.

"What's this?" Sayo murmured, finally noticing the brown leather bound book by the side of the ceremonial table and picking it up. The pages have already yellowed with age, and some of the pages have even stuck together, but Sayo managed to open it, and both Madara and Seina read it over her shoulder.

It seems to be some sort of journal kept by someone a long time ago, and the writing was cursive and elegant, reminding all three Uchihas of the writing of nobles. Sayo read the first entry out loud.

"'Humans' hearts are so weak. I find that rather sad, and yet amusing at the same time. So pitiful. They have short life spans, compared to the life spans of demons and such, yet why do they treasure life so much and act the way they did? They're confusing. For humans, the only certainty that they have in life is Death. So why fear the inevitable? Probably, it is because demons or half-demons like myself live such long lives that we take life lightly. But to the humans who have short life spans, it is probably that they have such short lives that they live to the fullest each and every day. But as I watch Rie, I can at least hope to understand a little of why they treasure each and every day, and act the way that they did'."

The three Uchihas exchanged looks. "It seems to be the journal of Toshigaki Hiore." Sayo said at last, and Madara nodded. "So this girl…" She glanced at the girl in front of them. "She must be Rie." She glanced at Madara and Seina. "He doesn't sound so bad in here. Hiore, that is. And it seems to be written a long time ago. Even way before our time."

Seina sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know, the more that we know about Raven's Gate and Hiore, the less it makes sense," she complained, and Madara grinned.

Sayo failed to contain her amusement either even as she turned over the first page of the journal carefully, as the journal is so old that it is almost falling apart in her hands. "'Humans are weak. That's what Mother said, and she is right. Yet for some reason that escapes my understanding, she seems so interested in them, and maybe even fond of them. Probably, that is why she even mated with Father and had me and Rie. But while I'm born with Mother's vitality and strength and even her immortality, Rie wasn't so lucky. She was born human, with a human's life span and body. Unfortunately, that means that she's also born with a weak body. Rie has been weak since birth. That's why Mother chose to lives in the forest in search of plants and ways to make Rie stronger. I respected that. Until those dead fools killed Mother just because of some dumb legend that states that eating her heart will make them immortal. And as if that isn't enough, they killed Rie just because of the rumours of the 'demon children'. They burned our house when I was out on one of my visits to Mother, burning the house down with Rie still inside! I will never forgive them! The world will know my pain, and they will burn from it!'"

Eyes wide, the three Uchihas stared at each other in silence for almost a full minute. They could understand a bit of how Hiore must feel. At least, Madara and Sayo could, as they have almost lost everyone that they've ever cared for at one time, only having each other for support.

"There's more." Sayo said quickly, turning over another page. She realised that this might just be what they're searching for in order to understand Hiore's mindset and his motives in doing what he did.

If truth be told, they have never tried to understand why Hiore is doing what he did. They have just made the mistaken assumption that he's evil, plain and simple. And just like everyone, Sayo had made the mistake of assuming that Hiore had always been that – plain evil, just because he's the son of a demon. Even the worst of villains have reasons as to why they acted the way they did. Despite the fact that Hiore is Kyuubi's son, and thus a half-demon, he is also half-human.

"'To be afraid of nothing is to be a fool. To stand up and face your terrors is to be truly brave. Rie told me that once. She once told me that she's afraid of dying, but that being left alone in this world is much more painful than death. Why is it, I wonder? I don't even understand it myself. I wonder just what is it that drives me so? Why do I want to protect Rie so much? My only sister. She's different from me. She hasn't sinned. I am the one who had sinned. Yet the one to pay for my sins had to be my innocent sister and mother. I swore to myself that I would bring Rie back. I will revive her, no matter what it takes. No matter how long it will take me, I will bring her back.'" Sayo finished the journal entry. "That's the last one." She looked at Madara and Seina.

"So that's why…" Madara murmured, looking at Rie. He can understand a bit of how Hiore must feel. If Sayo had been the one to die, he would do anything possible in order to bring his beloved back. He was silent for several moments, simply staring at the face of Rie. He wonders if she knew what her brother had done in order to revive her. Will she be horrified that her beloved brother is now nothing more than a monster in the eyes of the world, stooping at nothing in order to achieve his goals? "Seina, can you—"

"No, I couldn't." Seina knew what Madara is going to say before he'd even opened his mouth. She looked solemn even as she eyed Rie. "Not even I could revive the dead." She closed her eyes briefly. "There is nothing in this world that can bring the dead back to life. Nothing. You and Sayo both understand this more than anyone else."

"At the very least, heal her body." Sayo said, speaking what is on Madara's mind even as she looked at Rie. "Let her rest in peace."

"Okay." Seina let her hands glow with chakra as she ran it over Rie's body. When she took it away, Rie's body looked a lot better than she just did awhile ago. 'Is this why you've called us here? To understand your brother?' she wondered.

"It's almost sad when you think about it." Madara said suddenly. "He's rather similar to myself. Back when Izuna died, I tried researching ways to bring him back. But when I realised that a true Resurrection technique is impossible, I gave up. I wasn't willing to desecrate the dead in order to revive Izuna. But Hiore… He wasn't willing to give up. Possibly, if the tables are turned… If it had been Sayo, I would have done the same thing that he did." He admitted.

"He's just chasing after a fool's dream." Sayo stated. "There is no way to revive the dead. None whatsoever. The most that will happen is to bring them back as a living corpse." She was silent for several moments. "To die for a mission, that is the life of a ninja." She said at last. "But I wonder… Just how true it is?"

"Sayo…" Seina murmured.

"Let's go." Madara said, turning away. "We got a lot to think about."

Seina nodded and followed him. Sayo was about to follow, but something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she then noticed something that she hadn't noticed right from the start. A slip of paper was half-buried in the flowerbed that Rie was lying on, with just the edge of the paper vaguely visible. It wouldn't be noticeable if you hadn't been paying close attention.

Frowning to herself, Sayo took the slip of paper and unfolded it, her eyes scanning down the various lines that were scribbled on it. Just like with the journal, the paper seems extremely old and seems to be made of material that is not familiar to Sayo.

I swear, Rie. I swear to you that I will find a way to revive you, no matter what it takes. I do not care even if I have to sell my soul to the Devil himself. That man told me so. He said that it's possible. He told me that there is a way. As long as I attain the power of the strongest tailed beast, the Juubi, and initiate the Moon Eye plan…

"Damn it…" Sayo cursed lowly to herself, closing her eyes momentarily before opening them again. She looked at the serene expression of the girl lying in front of her. The younger sister of their mortal enemy. "Is this what you're trying to tell us?" She murmured, but she received no answer. 'He is being controlled by someone too. I guess it's true what they say. You can be the most powerful man in the world. But you can't defy the wheels of Nature. You can't cheat Death.' "I'll stop your brother. I swear it. That's why… You don't have to be worried anymore. Rest in peace."

Sayo then turned to leave the chamber. Before she had even taken more than three steps however, the redhead could have sworn that she heard a whisper echo itself by her ear, sounding almost windy or willowy-like.

Thank you.

Sayo stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes momentarily. 'Have you lost your path too? Have you lost sight of what you've believed in, Toshigaki Hiore?' Sayo wondered even as she exited the chamber where Seina and Madara are waiting for her, with the door closing itself behind her. 'There is nothing more fearsome for a ninja or even a human then to lose sight of the path that they've believed in. Like what I've promised your sister, and like what I've promised someone else once, I'll bring you back to your path. No matter what it takes. If I have to kill you in order to achieve that, then so be it.'

It lies in wait at every road, no matter which path you take.

People are born, they live, and then die. Similar to that of a straight line, people have no choice but to follow it. And they are then left to live their lives knowing that the end is inevitable – that the only thing truly certain in this world is Death.

Sometimes, Death is the easy way out. Sometimes, it is the only escape. Death is cruel, feared by many, and sometimes yearned by many. And yet, there are people still eager to close their eyes at night, hoping that they will one day be able to open them in the morning.

Such people are rare.

Humans are indeed confusing.

They fear Death above all else, and yet, at the same time, they also yearn for it.

XXXXXX

"Well? What is your answer?" Kakuzu smirked the moment that he spied the form of the young Uchiha boy approaching him. If truth be told however, he knew what Uchiha Itachi's answer would be.

Itachi was silent for several moments before he met Kakuzu's eyes with his own fearlessly. "I'll help you," he said at last. "But in exchange, leave Tsuki alone."

Kakuzu smirked to himself, though he had no intention of keeping that promise. They are ninjas after all. And all ninjas are good at deceit and betrayal. The young man before him should know this better than anyone else, since he had been a victim of such a way of life.

"Consider it done."

A/N: Please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update!