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Title:Natsu no kōrinoFuyu Kasai (winter's fire summer's ice)

Standard Disclaimer Applied

I formally apologize for any grammatical errors. Being my own editor and writer among other things is hard.

[Chapter Fifty One]

Sakura shifted in front of the mirror in her half nakedness in Ino's bedroom. She titled her head to one side as she scrutinized herself. She could literally feel Ino roll her eyes and shake her head.

"You look fine." She said sitting in front of her Vanity table doing her own makeup.

Sasuke had been with Kavazwalian's all morning and –unfortunately- had no time for her just yet. She couldn't get ready at his house because he wasn't even going to be there or at her house because face it, she was incapable of making herself look as pretty as Ino could. She felt guilty asking Ino if she could come over and get help getting ready and even guiltier when she didn't even bat an eyelash at saying yes. She didn't deserve Ino as a best friend.

"I never said I didn't look fine," she mumbled touching her hair.

"You don't have to say it for me to know." Ino explained. "Hey stop that! Stop touching your hair." She snapped.

Her long pink hair had been done in a low side bun. The bun itself was messy with tendrils of hair falling out and some hair at the front, falling elegantly. A silver cherry blossom hair pin was itched into her hair next to the bun. The extent to how pink her hair was after Ino washed it and treated it shocked even her. It was amazing. Ino had insisted that she didn't need makeup. Just some eyeliner, fill in her eyebrows a little more and some lipstick and that was it. Sakura barely recognized herself as she stood there. Her eyes seemed to become this intense fire driven emerald. She smiled.

"You're not even near to being ready," Sakura noted.

Ino shrugged. She was still in her silk robe. "Well it takes a lot longer for some of us to get pretty you know besides being late is a grand trade mark of mine. Unlike your boyfriend mine is quite patient." she said idly. "Get your dress. He'll be here any minute." She instructed curling her lashes.

Sakura was so nervous she wasn't even nervous anymore. She couldn't feel her body. It felt like an outer body experience she was having now, unable to even absorb anything happening around her. Since she got back from her father's apartment she just didn't feel like herself. She couldn't feel anything string or part of herself she just felt numb and impenetrable all of sudden.

She was awash in a kind of daze that she couldn't will herself to get out of. This banquet, she didn't even know what to expect. She'd never been to a banquet before let alone one filled with people from a completely different planet. She had never even met Sasuke's father before and hands down he would want to see her tonight. Probably everyone would want to see her strung out on the arm of the Legeem as the human girl she was. If there was one thing that made her uneasy it was being stared at and scrutinized. She faced –still- so much of that at school already.

"Sakura go get your dress and stop freaking yourself out. Really I can't stand the bad vibe here." She said combing through her flawless blonde hair. Ino was flawless. Totally and completely flawless.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah right." Sakura responded snapping out of her thoughts.

She grabbed the box and pulled out the rack and the silver corsage that was stained in some kind of viscous red. The mark told everyone at the banquet that she was off limits and not on the menu. Her stomach felt sick at the thought. People were on the menu. She didn't how she was going to be able to stomach this entire thing. She flashed the wrack and the dressed appeared instantly in its midnight blackness. Ino froze in her tracks, swiveled around and stared.

"Oh my God," she whispered, "that's gorgeous!"

Sakura flushed. "Thanks,"

She stood her robe falling open revealing her naked body but she really didn't care. Her hand touched the laced sleeve with a kind of awe she usually had when she saw expensive things in clothing magazines. She ran her manicured fingers over the top of the dress covered in lace, picked up the long back to admire the snowflakes that seemed to vanish into the hem of the dress in its silver light.

"Sakura it's just beautiful. It's perfect for you." she said in a tone of almost reverence. "Let's get you zipped up then." She said then with a smile.

Sakura nodded meekly and with Ino's help put the dress on. It clung to her frame even more than she remembered, the top cut low and square pushing her breasts up to create cleavage. It was skin tight as it stopped at the front mid-thigh and flared out behind her.

Sakura slipped into the black heels that wrapped up her calves where it didn't even need to be buckled. Ino had done her toes in an almost starlight silver, full of flitter. Ino made sure she had on the corsage and stepped back to smile at her master piece. If Sakura said she didn't feel pretty she would have been a blatant liar. She felt beautiful and almost cried when she saw herself in front of Ino's full length mirror. She never thought she could look this good in all her life.

"Ino…" she choked.

"Yeah yeah you're welcome no need to get all emotional about it. You look jaw dropping which is all that matters. No need to thank me," she said shimmying into her underwear.

Just then there was a honk. Suddenly Sakura felt faint, blood rushing from her head. She grabbed Ino's bed post to steady herself. Oh God, he was right on time. She bent at the waist and heaved in air through her mouth and out through her nose.

"You'll be fine." Ino said closing her robe and moving to her window to look out onto the street. "Huh," She said.

"What?" Sakura asked breathless from nerves.

"He's uh…." Ino titled her head before shaking it, "Nothing. You should get going. He looks a little impatient."

"No what's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing nothing, he just feels weird." She shrugged. "Guess he's nervous. It's him alright and he's stretching his arm into the car to-"

Sakura heard the car horn. "Yeah you should go now." Sakura nodded. "Okay." She trembled. "Okay. See you there?"

Ino laughed. "No shit Forehead. Now go."

Sakura hesitated even after Sasuke honked again downstairs before waving and making her way out of Ino's bed room. The night was bound to come. She just hoped he loved this dress; his opinion mattered the most to her.

Most of all she hoped that she didn't ruin this night for him. She knew how important it was and she prayed that everything went perfectly, that he was proud to have her on his arm tonight and that she made a good impression. God…she hoped she didn't trip over her feet and mess this up.

~O~

There is that moment when everything stops and your mind tries grasping the threads of sanity. That moment when you know that something is irrevocably and undeniably wrong and your mind tries to understand it, tries to make sense of it before it cracks and you go insane. When your mind reaches out its hands like it's falling from a cliff, trying to grab the threads of sanity before it shattered. This was one of those moments and Sasuke was missing the threads. He was missing all of them.

He knew the second something was wrong. It was instantaneous as everything that formed the cosmos collapsed in a rain of pain and agony. He coughed as the land slide forced him to his knees, his hand gripping his chest as he coughed dryly. Blood in its deep crimson and ringlets splattered to the floor, his palms now pressing on the asphalt as he leaned over, his insides becoming strangled. The pain was unreal. It was like his inner flesh was being torn away from his soul, his essence being shredded away. Then all too suddenly it stopped and he couldn't sense Sakura anymore.

Sasuke's head craned to the sky as his breathing darkened. The mangekyō formed lethally and the air became toxic and black like a cloak fell over him. Anger raged through him at lightning speed as he rose to his feet. He let out a long shaky breath as his anger seemed to begin to burn through his clothes. He wiped the corners of his mouth and made his way to Ino's house. It took him almost no time at all to make it there. The second he saw her house he didn't even knock. He just walked right in.

He took his time making his way through her house and to her room. If Sakura was not in that room with Ino… …He was on the brink of losing every single piece of his mind. He could feel it, the insanity hovering over his shoulder just waiting to grasp him. He could feel its sticky breath on his neck and he would destroy this entire town and rip every single piece of board and brick to find her. He couldn't feel her. There had never –not once- been a moment where he could not feel her.

He pushed open Ino's room door and she jumped back, half naked in front of her full length mirror. She almost had a heart attack as she quickly grabbed a towel.

"Where is Sakura?" He asked cold-heartedly.

"Sasuke! What the fuck are you-"

"Ino where is Sakura?" he repeated.

"Uh, hello you don't just barge in and…" Ino trailed off as his question dawned. "What'd you mean where is Sakura? You picked her up literally like two minutes ago." Ino said.

The entire world throbbed like a broken heart beat, Ino zoomed out then back into vision and for a split second Sasuke thought he would pass out. He surely felt like he was going to black out. His knees buckled and the air around him stilled. His hand found a wall as he braced against it unable to breathe. No.

He made his way to her window and looked out. "Ino who came here?" he asked. "Who came to get her?"

"Sasuke you came to pick her up, you honked and she went down stairs. What's going on? What happened?"

His entire body darkened as he jumped through Ino's window and went to stand in the middle of the road. He waited patiently, his face unable to display the anger and the dread that washed through him so much his entire body was shaking. They clashed inside of him all at once, a combination he'd never felt before. He knew something was wrong, he just knew it. Anything could be happening to her right now, anything. This was supposed to be an absolutely impossible scenario. This was supposed to be completely impossible.

Not after everything. He couldn't have her go through something else again not after everything that had happened. Not after all this he couldn't fail her one more time. This couldn't happen to her. He hadn't even seen her this morning after she went to see her father. He hadn't touched her face. This couldn't happen to her after all she had been through. This couldn't happen!

Sasuke watched as shadows crept and dragged their way into shapes and forms, gliding and coming closer and soon the Black Blades formed before him.

Sasuke just stared at them, the urge to rip every single one of them to shreds strangling him. He swallowed and his voice was the calmest it had ever been. The blame had to be put somewhere and he had done everything to prevent this. Who told these men that failure to do what was told was an option? Had he told them that it was alright to disappoint him? They weren't stupid; there was a price to pay for failure when working with him. He licked his lips, his mouth forming a deadly scowl.

"Someone needs to start talking." Sasuke said breaking the silence that surrounded them in the middle of the street. He didn't care who saw. "Why isn't my girlfriend in that room right now?" he asked pointing to Ino's bedroom window his jaw set in a hard line.

His mind was racing. This could cause complete and utter disaster on a level he didn't even want to think about. The emotions that propelled through him made his bones feel brittle and made him feel like he had absolutely no strength in his body.

Everyone looked at each other but no one opened their mouth to say anything. If he couldn't find her, people had to be punished justly. He was in physical pain. His insides and chest felt as if it was being torn apart from the inside out, as if it was being set ablaze. It was not a comfortable feeling and it was making him even angrier with the turn of events. He trusted these men to keep her safe until he got back. His chest seemed to constrict painfully and he tried not to stagger back. He gritted his teeth. Damn it hurt.

"Autkio, where is my girlfriend?" Sasuke asked.

His eyes darted around. "I don't know."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked leaning his ear closer. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I don't know boss," he mumbled softly.

Sasuke nodded and without a word smashed his head clean into the asphalt. With his shoe Sasuke stepped into his throat severing his head in pure carnal brutality. Blood splattered across the asphalt as brains came out in a sticky sound, slapping onto the ground. He knelt down and grabbed his lifeless body by the shirt and held him up to demonstrate just how serious this was. This was not a game. The demon in him had risen. His mangekyō red eyes blinked at them.

This was one of the most important Kavazawlian events of the entire year. The most important event of the entire year and he could not afford to fuck this up. He couldn't afford to miss it; he couldn't afford to kill his own kind on a night like this. The most important political and social night of the year and they lost track of his girlfriend. They didn't know who they were fucking with.

"One thing. I asked for one single thing." Sasuke said tossing his body emotionlessly, stepping carelessly on his head over to them. "How is it that I have three of you watching my girlfriend and you look in my face and dare tell me that you don't know where she is?"

"Boss I wasn't even aware to-"

"Where the fuck is she?!" He roared.

"Boss-"

He held his hand up. If they said anything else he'd kill all of them.

They were all trained. They could never mistake Sasuke for anyone else. His entire DNA was itched into their very flesh, imprinted in their senses and tangled in their minds. There was no possible excuse as to why Sakura was not in Ino's room right now. None and even if there was one, it was not valid. Besides the fact that she was his everything, she could cause complete disaster. Right now Sasuke had no control over himself if someone else tried to do something to her, he could have no mind of his own. He wasn't thinking with his head he was thinking with his feelings and he knew how much damage that could cause.

With Sakura gone with his soul not only could he die, they could completely own him. His soul was inside of her. He was inside of her. They could own him. The thought made him sick and weak in his knees. Owning Sasuke and what he was capable of would be the ultimate weapon for them to use and wipe out the council's. He was the strongest of his kind and his powers surpassed the rest. They could have an army. With the highest ranking Kavazwalian's present in Kanoha now was the perfect time. Not to mention that power inside of him that they could release, fully waking this god that would completely destroy everything.

Sasuke pointed to Autkio's morbid body. "If I don't find her before the banquet ends at tonight, everyone will pay the price for this. Get. Searching. Now." he seethed.

He glanced up and saw Ino staring at him almost traumatized, her hands over her mouth as nausea caressed her. She looked at him as if he was a monster. If he didn't find Sakura, he would show Ino what a monster truly looked like. No nightmare she'd ever had and monster she'd ever seen when she was little could even compare to the monster he could be. Without thinking he stepped over Autkio's body and vanished. He needed to find her.

This was not supposed to happen. He had taken the precautions necessary to protect her. He knew someone was watching them. He had known that someone was on to them but he had done and taken the precautions. He initiated his Black Blades to watch her 24/7 and he had kept tabs on her at all times. This was supposed to be an impossible scenario.

She couldn't go through this again after all that had happened. They couldn't have picked a worse time. She hadn't even fully recovered. Why couldn't he do his job? Why couldn't he protect her the way he promised her he would? The way he was supposed to?

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair as his mind raced. For the first time in all his life he didn't know what to do. He had no plan for this and he didn't know how to even start doing something to find her. He knew every second she was gone something was getting worse. Pulling out his phone he decided to call the first two people that came to his mind. Itachi and Naruto.

Truly Itachi had his own shit to deal with right now since the Kavazwalian society was in some sort of mild mayhem and all. Sasuke knew that and he also knew that really, Itachi had been minding his own business and not pushing himself into Sasuke's affairs. However, he needed Itachi's help. He needed someone's help; he was having trouble even thinking straight. All he wanted to do was kill kill kill kill kill until he found her but he knew that wasn't a plan. He knew that by calling Naruto, everyone else who needed to hear would hear. He conferenced the call.

"What have you gotten yourself into now?" Itachi asked calmly as he answered the phone. "I'm about to put my suite on."

"Yo, Sasuke! Where are you?"

"Kill me." Itachi said warily. "Why am I on the phone with this fool?"

"Hello? Am I talking to three people here?" Naruto asked. "Oi! Itachi, we're on a conference call! How've you been dude?"

"I am in no way or form in the mood for this." He said. "Sasuke, what is this stunt about?"

Sasuke balled his free hand into a fist. He couldn't do this. He felt his eyes water and he closed them taking a deep breath. "Sakura is gone." He said in a hard tone.

Silence reigned for a long while. Of course they wouldn't believe him because even if she was kidnapped, he should be able to sense her and find her. Easy game really. However he felt as blind as a bat in the moment.

"What?" Naruto said. "What'd you mean she's gone? Gone where?"

"Naruto, clearly he has no idea where. Put two and two together would you." he said in mild irritation. "How long has she been gone?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know. I was only aware when whatever connection I had to her was severed."

"You can't feel her at all?" Itachi asked.

"No, I cannot." He replied.

"Ah boy, this spells trouble." Itachi sighed.

"Where are you?" Naruto asked.

"A few blocks from Ino's house."

"Don't move. I'll be there in two minutes." They said simultaneously.

Sasuke raked his fingers through his hair and stared. Where was he going to start? He didn't know. He felt like he couldn't do anything at all as if he was lost and in a sea of nothingness. He heard her feet hitting the pavement, coming from the distance, her heart racing with fear. He should have known she would follow him but truth was he could use any help he could get. He was collapsing as the seconds went by. He didn't know how to function without her, to even breathe without knowing she was safe.

"Sasuke!"

He stood there and waited. She grabbed his hand, gasping. She bent at the waist, flipping her pony tail from over her shoulder.

"Shit, running is certainly not my forte." She gasped. She stood and came into his focus. Her brows furred as she stumbled back. "What are you?" she asked almost horrified.

"What do you want?" he said simply.

"What…your eyes…"

"Ino, what do you want?" he repeated.

"We have to find her," Ino said gasping, "I knew something was wrong I just didn't know what it was. He felt so unlike you but he looked like you, I just-"

"He looked like me?"

She nodded. "Yes he did, exactly like you." she said pointing west. "He went that way."

"Was there anything off about him?"

"His eyes." she said instantly. "When I looked at him through the window, his eyes were almost a gray black for a split second and he smiled. I found that the weirdest thing of all because you don't smile."

"How long ago did he come for her?"

"Before you arrived…about three minutes had gone by after she left tops. I called Hinata, I thought this would kind of be her thing. I hope you don't mind."

"What did she say?"

"She's on her way. That's partly a reason why I just ran all the way here to stop you. You need to wait." She said wiping sweat from her forehead. "He looked so much like you it was weird."

"And he's waiting for you." Hinata said as she materialized out of what seemed to be nothingness with Naruto and Itachi on either side of her. "Sasuke, he's planned this out very well and you won't find her until he's finished setting up. You can't find her unless this man or this thing wants you to."

"Setting up what?"

Hinata swallowed. "He knows. Somebody knows Sasuke. He's doing the forbidden Aka Reikon technique." She said.

Itachi grasped Sasuke's forearm before his knees could cave and send him to the floor. Reality shattered him from the inside out and for the first time in his life Sasuke Uchiha experienced raw bone breaking terror. Itachi guided Sasuke to the side walk and Sasuke took a seat, holding his head before burying his head in his hands. Aka Reikon, the Red Soul technique was used so long ago that it sounded alien to his ears. However he knew what it meant. He held his head up slowly and looked up into the sky.

"He's going to try to take out my Soul." Sasuke said. "She'll die."

The Aka Reikon took around an hour or two to set up where Sakura's body could be trapped in a series of spells cast by symbols, her hands tied to the ceiling apart and her legs held apart by ropes, making it 'easier' to take out his soul. He'd snap her elbows and pierce her knees with an enflamed, ever burning piece of wood. The idea was to let it bleed it out of her and extract it through her mouth. It was forbidden for so many reasons. Firstly the soul could not be controlled, she could die before he got the chance to take it out, the spell could back fire as it was known for doing and set Kaavan Demons on them. He would need Sasuke for the ceremony to work if his soul couldn't be bled out after snapping Sakura's limbs. Oh god Sasuke felt like he was about to vomit at the entire thought. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that this was actually happening.

"So what do I do?"

Hinata sighed and slumped.

"What you need to do is get yourself together this very minute. Your girlfriend is in trouble now is not the time to show weakness. Now is the time to get up, lead and find her." Itachi said coldly. He turned to Hinata. "You need create a bonding circle, have him stand in it and try your hardest to initiate some sort of contact with her by any means necessary." He said.

"I don't think I'm strong enough to do that." She stuttered.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Well you're going to make certain that you are tonight. Sasuke get up and take charge." Itachi clipped. "Sitting in disbelief is not going to save your Gardien D'âme and the absolute disaster that this entire situation could cause."

He took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet. His brother was right, this wasn't doing anything and measures need to be taken in case of anything. His face became a mask like clay before he started talking. After having relocated to a more reclose place, he started giving orders like it was no body's business. One of the main concerns was having this leaked out by others who could possibly be watching them and having the Pentitantum finding out.

The Pentitantum knew something was fishy but they also believed that Sasuke and his team were on top of their game and keeping everything in order. Of course everything was a complete disaster but having them know this would lead to them ignorantly getting rid of Sakura, executing his soul and trying to get their hands on the God to cause further complications. Such idiotic moves couldn't be tolerated at this moment and so Naruto and Itachi moved out to eliminate any further complications.

Hinata and Neji using Black Ash started drawing a bonding circle on the grass. Every second she glanced at Sasuke but he could barely even see anyone. There it was again, the pain making him stagger back and grabbing his chest. He coughed and more blood flew from his mouth. Shikamaru was already at his side steadying him as the pain tried to subdue him.

"Neji, can't you go any faster?" Shikamaru asked.

His brows creased apologetically. "We're going as fast as we can." He said his tone soft. "We will find her Sasuke even if it means tearing this world apart. We will find her." he reassured him.

Sasuke coughed and nodded his head. "I'm fine." He croaked patting Shikamaru's arm. "I'm fine."

Shikamaru released him reluctantly. Sasuke took a deep breath and a tentative step. He groaned. The pain was almost –almost- unbearable for him. Hinata gestured at him and he walked over already knowing the drill. He held his hand out and let Hinata slash his palm, draining the blood into the circle.

"Sasuke, I don't…" Hinata paused for a second, "I don't know if this will get-"

"I just need a second." Sasuke interrupted. "Just one second."

Hinata and Neji nodded. "We'll give you. It's going to hurt." He warned.

"Are we ready or what?" Sasuke asked stepping into the circle.

As if he cared about pain. Pain didn't bother him. Pain didn't make him afraid of anything. He was not a coward and he wanted to get her back –no he had to get her back- and if it caused a little pain that was almost nothing to pay. Sasuke got in the circle and checked his watch. The banquet would start in twenty minutes. Jesus. The trouble this would cause if he was absent. He nodded. Let the world burn to the ground if that's what it was going to cost him to find her. He was ready.

He watched the Byakugan come alive in Hinata's eyes, her hands outstretched over the black ash. Sasuke felt like someone was prying into his chest. He didn't rightly know how a dragon and a dragoness (partial anyways) were going to connect him to Sakura. He didn't know how long it would take but one thing he knew; soon he was on his hands on knees. Blood seemed to gush from his mouth and eyes, his nails digging into the earth.

The force sank down onto him like a blanket making itself known. He kept feeling and searching, waiting and waiting to feel her even the fainted hint. It was hard to concentrate with pain rising from inside of his body clawing its away out but he wouldn't stop. His hand slammed into the ground with a painful cry, his voice thick and laced with his own blood.

"Sasuke-"

"Keep going." he ordered coughing again.

Searching. He'd been so in tuned to her for so long he didn't ever think their connection could be broken. He never thought anything could come between them or take her away from him. He didn't think a time would ever come where he couldn't feel her or where he couldn't find her. It was one of those things you never even thought about because it seemed so farfetched.

Then he felt it like wind against his skin. It was gently but hot and fierce cutting clean through him. He coughed again and took a deep breath. He just had to grab the connection he saw around him. He just had to-

The cry ripped from his mouth like a monster raw and guttural. It was like the shriek of a demon with its loudness torment laced all around in it. The curse mark flared to life and he staggered to his feet with the devil riding him.

"I know where she is."

He was going to murder every single living thing.

And there you have it guys, the ending of another chapter! I know Sakura just never gets a break does she? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are pumped to read all that's coming a head for you guys! Thank you so much for ALL your support! It REALLY gets me through all these rough things and to see what all you guys have to say, seriously, reviews are the best part of my weeks.

Endless Love,

D.V