Isle of Flightless Birds

by kyliEisMC2

In a world where angels and demons war. A befriended angel and demon chanced upon a mortal. She became a part of their life in different ways. To Naruto she was a friend, to Sasuke she was so much more. But mortals are fragile creatures born to die. Yet, there she was, centuries later, standing in a club and looking at him as if she had never seen him in her life. AUAngel&Demon.

30. Chapter 29

A/N to clear thing up for sasusaku4eva and anyone else confused: Yes angel Sakura and Mortal Sakura are the same Sakura. She is not actually a doppelganger or reincarnation like many believe her to be. This is only because the ability to create mortals into seraph is known by only a select few. Reference chapter 18:Dehydration and Revelation where Tsunade explains this, and this chapter will hopefully bring some light to the situation as well. You can always PM me or ask me on Tumblr for more clarification.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Knock Knock, Let the Devil In

Present Day:

She had run away. Run away at a human speed, her feet slipping and sliding across the muddy lawn. Sprinting instead of flying like she should have. There was just something naturally appropriate for her to clumsily run away from him like the mortal she once was.

When her body grew tired from the exertion of the miles she had covered, she slowed to a walk and meandered through the streets of New York. Without a single destination in mind, she let her feet guide her aimlessly as she navigated through somewhat familiar avenues and boulevards of the city. She knew she should be flying up to the heavens, she knew that lingering would only prolong the danger, but she could not bring herself to summon her wings. Each time she thought of returning to her home, Sasuke's face appeared in her mind. The look of disgust, betrayal, and hatred when he looked at her, when he realized what she was...It was perhaps foolish, but she felt that if she just pretended they weren't there beneath her skin, she could somehow be a mortal. Just a simple mortal wandering the streets among her fellow humans and not some creature of abomination that Sasuke had seemed to think she was now. She knew she shouldn't care, that it was safer as a heavenly being, but controlling how one felt was not that simple.

The rain had let up a little but it still fell down in a light sprinkle, making it wet enough for the people walking by to shroud themselves with raincoats and umbrellas, which made her stand out even more with her tattered tee shirt and dripping hair. The earlier heat of the day, mixed with the precipitation, made it humid and muggy. But the wind that managed to maneuver through the skyscrapers caused her skin to prickle with a coldness and she soon found herself wrapping her arms around herself as she wandered her way down an unknown street as her teeth chattered together.

Soon her feet met the end of the sidewalk where a crosswalk began and she paused. Looking up from the ground she took in her surroundings, unsure of which way to go. Not because she was lost but because she truly had no idea as to where she was supposed to be. Should she find Kakashi and Naruto? What had happened to them? Maybe she should go check on Sai? Did he make it to Yamato's okay? Or did she go back to the heavens and wait where it was safe?

The questions left her mind almost immediately. She was too tired and numb to think properly and there was a sharp pain within her chest that was distracting any form of focus. She was doing her best to ignore it but it was difficult.

Just as she was about to turn the corner to walk down the adjacent street instead of crossing it

, she came to a stop when she noticed a dog sniffing the air as it walked down the street without a leash or even an owner nearby. It paused when it's nose caught a particular scent and it's ears perked up and twitched just as it turned its head to look directly at her. Recognition came to her face that was reflected by the dog as it gave out a bark and trotted over to her.

---

Kakashi dodged the large sword that swung through the air with a metallic ring before bursting forward and smashing his head into Suigetsu's forehead. The shark seraph crumpled to the ground where his giant companion was already prone on his back with his eyes wide open, caught up in the genjutsu that Kakashi had trapped him in earlier. Turning around he moved to help Naruto who was just now incapacitating the scarlet woman he was battling. Taking a hold of her wings, Naruto threw her against the cement wall that bordered the building's edge. Her body hit it with a crunch as the cement cracked and her body went limp.

Seeing that his assistance was not needed, Kakashi bit his thumb and with the blood that seeped from beneath his skin, he drew a quick summoning circle on the wet cement before slamming his palm down in the center. The bloody lines lit up for a moment before smoke steamed from the glow. A waft of air burst from the smoke, disrupting it into a thin fog before quickly dissipating into the damp air, revealing a small creature standing in the summoning circle.

"Pakkun," Kakashi addressed the familiar. "I need you to find Sakura. Tell the others as well to search the city and find her as soon as possible. If she is in danger you are to remain and protect her until help arrives."

The supernatural dog gave an obedient sniff of his nose and without delay, disappeared, leaving a cloud of grey smoke. As soon as he was gone, Kakashi dug into a pouch at his side and produced a thin roll of wire.

"Here," he said, tossing the wire to Naruto. "We will tie them up, if we can't find Sakura, it will because Sasuke took her and these three will be the best chance we have of finding him."

Naruto caught the wire tossed to him and immediately went to work wrapping the red heads limbs behind her back then securing her legs. As he worked, his mind whirled with worry. How could Kakashi be so calm right now? Naruto wondered at his teacher's ability to somehow be able to have a level head while Sakura could be kidnapped by now, or possibly hurt, or even dead for that matter. While he wanted to believe Sasuke would never do such a thing, there was no telling how he would handle such a revelation of Sakura being seraph now. Sasuke hated their kind, both fallen and blessed. It was why he stayed uninvolved all these years.

A sound erupted behind him just as he was finishing and he quickly turned to see Kakashi's familiar had returned.

"I found the girl. She was wandering around Yamato's apartment," Pakkun reported in a gruff bark of a voice. "She is safe now, Bull and the others are escorting her to his home. She seems fine but something smells off."

Kakashi gave a sharp nod then beckoned to Naruto. "Leave them," he instructed. "We can deal with them later, we need to get to Sakura and get her home."

---

"You're positive you are alright?" Sakura said for the hundredth time.

When Bull had found her wandering the streets and called the rest of Kakashi's familiars, including Pakkun who had told her to follow the others to Yamato's, Sakura had obediently followed. With the knowledge that Kakashi and Naruto being fine, and having no other objections as it gave her an opportunity to check on Sai. Now, fifteen minutes later, as she stood in the middle of Yamato's living room while Sai sat on the couch, she was still doing that, asking him every thirty seconds if he was okay. All the while, Yamato himself was moving from kitchen, to hallway, to dining room, trying to fend off Kakashi's pack of familiars as they chewed at the legs of his hand crafted wooden furniture by the rambunctious group of dogs.

"I'm not even supposed to have dogs in the building," he bemoaned, pulling a half chewed book that had been sitting on a side table that now had a corner chewed off.

His anguished groan was drowned out by a frenzy of barking when the ding of the elevator caused the stampede of familiars to run off to the opening doors in the foyer. He reached the foyer in their hairy wake just in time for Kakashi and Naruto to step off the lift, Pakkun in his master's arms.

"Yo," the masked man saluted with an eye crinkle of a smile.

Yamato only gave him a haunting glare that could send chills in the coldest of cold blooded monsters. "I opened my home to be a safe house, not a pound," he said sternly, lifting the cover of his once favorite book with a threatening posture.

Kakashi gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head before giving a shaky apology and made some hand signs that dismissed the familiars. In a puff of smoke, fleas, and hair, they all disappeared, leaving a more serious and somber atmosphere when Sakura appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled before running over to her and wrapping her in a breath constraining hug.

Sakura did her best to return the hug with her pinned arms but became distracted when Kakashi appeared just behind Naruto. At first he looked concerned as always, his eyes wandering over her body for any sign of injury. His slate gaze caught the red lines that were beginning to darken on her neck and his face darkened as he looked at her sternly.

"Sakura, what in the hell were you thinking wandering the streets? You should have gone straight to the heavens as soon as you escaped! Or at least come into the safe house instead of loitering outside! You know the rules, you know if you get separated you are to return immediately to a safe place."

His sharp tone and stern look stung, not just stung but it grated. Earlier Sakura had been distracting herself with the well-being of Sai, but now that she was no longer keeping her mind preoccupied, everything that had just happened, everything that had happened all day came crashing down and again she was struggling to hold the weight of it.

Nothing she did was any good and it was not fair. Why did it always have to be what the others told her to do? For once couldn't she decide what she thought was best for her? What she needed to do? It started with Deidara and Sasori demanding their master, whoever the hell he was, expected her to be brought to him. Then it was Sasuke, telling her what she felt, commanding her to come with him, and casting her away without letting her make a defense for herself. And now Kakashi was yelling at her for breaking the gods damn rules, after forcing her to break the biggest one of them all, revealing her immortal status to, not just anyone, but to Sasuke of all people. Something that had not resulted well.

"I just needed a moment," she said in a quiet defense.

His eye widened with irritation. "A moment to what? Give the enemy a moment to catch up? To find you? You know the rules!"

The constraint Sakura was struggling to hold onto was lost as something within her snapped. Quickly, she extracted herself from Naruto and sent a hard look to Kakashi. "I thought you said to forget the rules?" she questioned. "If anything what I did was minuscule compared to the breach that you had me do when you had me reveal myself!" She took in a deep breath, rubbing at her chest where that dull pain was earlier as a weariness took over. "It's been a long day and I just...I just needed a moment, is that really too much to ask for?"

"When your life is in danger yes."

Her eyes snapped from where her tired eyes had trailed to the intricate carpet beneath her feet to Kakashi, her weariness forgotten as anger took over again. "It was just a moment!" she bellowed.

Her tone seemed to take Kakashi off guard as well as everyone else given the shared looks between everyone. When he seemed to have recovered, Kakashi took a step forward and reached out his hand to place it on her shoulder as he always did when she was distressed. She knew what was about to happen, he was going to say something far too rational that would make sense and instantly make her feel like a fool for the way she was acting. It was what he always did when she was becoming hysterical. Only this time, she wasn't ready to be rational right now, she needed to vent and needed to let it out because she was hurting. Damaged from Sasuke's hateful looks and words, tortured from the shame he made her feel, and she was angry at Kakashi. She needed this, otherwise she felt she would explode.

Sakura smacked his hand away and when he opened his mouth to speak, Sakura cut him off. "No," she snapped, pointing a finger into his face. "How dare you do that to me, to force me into that situation! Do you have any idea how horrible of an idea that was? What was the point of all this hiding, the lies, and the secrecy, only to reveal everything in the worst way?" she questioned. "That was the whole point of it all wasn't it? To keep Sasuke in the dark? Well guess what, he knows now and he did not take it well."

Her voice broke slightly and Kakashi saw a pained look come to her face as her hand went to her chest and rubbed at a spot. As if there was some kind of irritation or she was having difficulty breathing. It made him wonder just how much she was still connected to the Uchiha, even without her previous memories. He would have thought such feelings would have faded over the years without something physical to tether themselves to, but it seemed he was wrong. He wanted to comfort her but he also needed to get her to understand that he cared more about her safety than Sasuke's knowledge. He would gladly tell all his secrets if it meant she was safe. There were just too many he had failed to keep safe in the past…Sakura would not be counted among them.

"Sakura, I know things have not been easy. I can understand that you are upset about Sasuke, but—"

"This isn't about Sasuke!" she bellowed, though even as she said it, the flash of his angry face, full of contempt as he took in her seraph form, appeared in her mind and that pain in her chest twitched. But she kept going. "I am angry at you! This is about you forcing me to leave you, to abandon you both!" She sent an angry look of accusation towards Naruto before looking back at Kakashi with the sharpest look she could muster. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!" Her voice broke as she choked on a sob that had been working out of her chest but she swallowed it. "Is that what I am now?! Worse than scum?" You did that! You forced me—"

"Sakura," Kakashi began, "forgive me but that's not what—"

"Not what you meant but that's what you did," Sakura finished for him. She was still angry but for some reason it was wearing off as the pain in her chest became harsher. It was distracting her and it was taking everything in her to not let out a physical acknowledgment of it.

"Sakura," it was Naruto who was now speaking. "Please don't be angry, we were just trying to protect you, keep you safe. If we were to lose you—"

"If you were to lose me?! What if I lost you?" she asked, sounding almost offended. "Did you ever think that you guys are just as important to me? Did you ever consider the idea that maybe my life is not more important than yours?" She argued back, then she looked at Kakashi. "You want me to forgive you then stop! Stop putting my life before anyone else's. Don't you dare ever do something like that again. If it ever comes down to my life and my safety over others, then you are to let me go. I can take care of myself and if I can't then I would rather die trying than have others sacrifice themselves for me."

He did not reply, none of them replied.

"Kakashi?" Sakura prodded, not willing to let it go. Finally he nodded though he did not look entirely committed but it was a start. She looked to Naruto as well who gave an unhappy nod as well. Though they were not quite as important in getting agreement, Yamato and Sai gave small nods as well when she looked around, her body relaxing slightly. "Okay then…" she looked to Sai. "You will be safe here. Yamato can get you anything you need and if you need me...you still have that scroll I gave you."

Sai nodded, holding up an ancient looking scroll that Sakura had just drawn out and given to him before Kakashi and Naruto had come. If he were to open it and drop his blood on it she would be alerted. She would know if she would be needed. It was not common for such things to be given to mortals but at this point, Sakura didn't care. She had messed up enough, she wasn't going to lose all the progress Sai had worked so hard for by letting him fall into the hands of the wrong person. There was no denying it, she had become an enemy to someone today, and there would be no telling what the repercussions would be. It could be that nothing happened, but she was not willing to chance it.

---

The ideology of a broken heart had always been romantic in her mind's eye. It was one of Sakura's favorite things about mortals, to believe that they could love someone so much that it could physically hurt. The emotion was one she had always thought would be incomprehensible to know unless you had felt it yourself.

But as the pain burned within her chest, she wondered if this was the feeling that mortals wrote songs and stories about to try and convey such anguish. It felt as if a hole was about to be charred through her chest and her heart would fall out at any moment. She almost wished such a thing would happen if it would at least stop the pain. If there was an actual physical wound, she could at least mend flesh. But this...this she had no knowledge of how to stop hurting when there was nothing physically wrong. She had checked three times as well as Tsunade but there was no wound or damage to that area of her body...it just hurt for seemingly no reason at all.

It was like her mind was trying to express her feelings by telling the neurons in her body to signal pain for her emotions, but even that did not make sense. Was it even possible to be heartbroken when you were never in love? Because while she could not deny she had felt something with Sasuke over the weeks before tonight's disaster, she couldn't confirm it had developed to that extent. But could it be a manifestation of what her inner, blocked off piece of mind was feeling? It had never occurred to her that it would be conscious of what happened to her now when that sealed piece seemed so silent and subtle. If so, then what exactly had her mortal self felt for Sasuke?

Just recently she had been able to connect the wandering emotions she had always felt to Sasuke. However, identifying and interpreting those emotions had been a little more tricky. But given what Sasuke had told her, how she felt, and what other little morsels of information she had gathered, she had concluded that her mortal self and Sasuke had been in love. At least that is what she reasoned given his determination. But just how deeply had they been committed to each other? Sasuke had determination but what was that drive? Love or obsession? And why?

Why?

That was the answer she wanted most of all. Why had she loved him? After everything he had just done tonight, after everything he had tried to do, why had she loved him? Or better yet, why the hell had she comforted him after everything he had done? Why did she still seem to care for him even now after everything? It was not healthy what she was feeling towards him, not with how little she knew about him and certainly not after what he had done. He was hurting, yes, but that did not excuse his actions.

She was standing in her bathroom. Stripped of her clothing as she waited for the basin of the bath to fill with water, she stared at herself in the mirror. Taking in the bruises and cuts, looking at the muddy smudges and bloody streaks. But most of all, she was staring at the perfect print that Sasuke's hand had left around her neck. Over the hours since he let her go, they had turned a dark purple, making it look as if a shaded wraith of the underworld was clutching onto her and at any moment, she would find herself being pulled down to where it dwelt in hell.

Why? She asked herself again. Why had she comforted him?

He had reached around her neck, pressed against it until she could no longer breath. And then there had been the lightning. The blue frenzy that he had held in his hands, poised as if he had been on the verge of plugging the shock into the cavity that was now holding the aching heart within her chest.

It had all been a blur, and perhaps that was what had happened, and that was why her heart was hurting. Maybe he had shocked her and this pain was the residual effects...That would at least make more sense than a broken heart.

---

"I finally found you."

His hand began to move up her body, skimming the hem of her shirt. Her skin prickled and her body shivered when his thumb grazed the skin of her stomach beneath the cotton garment. But that was all he did before slowly dragging his hand up to her neck.

"It's been so long," he sighed as his hand smoothly moved around the column of her neck.

Her heart beat within her chest and her eyes fell closed as she savored his touch. Trying to predict and anticipate where his hands would wander next. But his hand remained wrapped loosely around her neck like a warm scarf during winter. Warm and comforting but not constraining.

She felt him lean closer. His hips brushed against her abdomen as his chest grazed hers. Then she felt his head lean forward and a gentle breeze of his breath by her right ear, told her that his face was less than an inch from the side of hers.

"You have been misbehaving, Sakura," her name rolled off his tongue like rich, golden honey. "It's been too long, you have forgotten where your loyalties lie."

Her eyes cracked open in confusion to his words. She opened her mouth to refute such things but the sudden tightness that constricted around her throat stopped her from being able to say anything. Automatically her hands went up to pry his fingers from her throat but in an instant, she was thrust up against a barrier. Her head cracked against whatever invisible wall she was being held against, causing a blinding pain and whiteness to render her sight momentarily useless.

"You betrayed me, Sakura. You betrayed us," he seethed, hand on her throat tightening even more to emphasize his words.

As the white flash of pain subsided, she was able to finally focus on him. Her eyes widened at the sight. Burning with hatred and spite, his sharingan spun wildly. They were the pattern she was not as familiar with, the ones that were flowered like her other dream when she drowned. The ones that belonged to the other Sasuke. The Sasuke that wanted to hurt her, the Sasuke that tried to drag her down to hell.

She opened her mouth again, to defend herself, but a screech of what sounded like a thousand birds filled her ears as a blue light erupted. The glow made him look even more menacing as he raised his electrified hand to illuminate both of their faces.

"I'm disappointed in you Sakura," he said with an unsettling level voice. He leaned in, his lips nearly brushing hers as he spoke. "You tried...but you will never be her."

His hand moved forward and thrust into her chest. Pain erupted within as the lightning spread through her body, igniting her nervous system until every part of her was burning with an electrical fire. But that was not the worst of it. The worst was the pain she felt in her heart, not the one caused by the electrical waves that were charing at the flesh, but deeper. She felt it in her soul as everything that made up her existences cried out and withered.

She stared back into those hateful eyes, hoping to find relief. But all she found was contempt. There would be no mercy, there would be no humanity. She was going to die, fade out of complete existence and he would not care. He would not regret this destruction, she meant nothing to him.

---

Present Day: Several Days Later

She woke with a start, her body shooting up from the mattress as her chest heaved in gulps of breath. Her skin was drenched with a cold sweat and beneath her skin, her nerves hummed with a numbed vibration, as if an electric current really had pulsed throughout her body and she was now feeling the numbed effect of the shock.

She ran a hand down her face and found tears staining her cheeks along with the perspiration that formed at her brow. She felt unsettled, and the hateful look of Sasuke flashing in her mind each time she blinked did not help. That look he had given her when he had taken in her dark wings and realized what she was, the disgusted contempt, it had physically hurt. Like an arrow shot through her chest it had stung and burned. And she felt it would be the last true look she would ever receive from him. Because when he discovered what she was, he could hardly look at her.

To make things worse was the conflicted feelings she had within her. The draw that she had to him, the allure. She knew attraction played a part in it, for who could not be attracted to that face. Physically he drew the eye. But this was something beyond physical attraction, beyond anything she had ever felt for anyone. And it was all tied to what they were before she had been converted into a seraph.

She of course had her suspicions, but she did not want to believe it, at least not until she had proof of what they were. And that would come in the form of memories, to which she had a strong belief would never be returned. Until she knew why, she refused to fully believe that they had once been in love. People who love each other do not hurt each other, even when there are misunderstandings. And they had both been guilty in that, whether intentional or unintentional, they had hurt the other in some form and fashion.

This is what she kept telling herself in an attempt to stamp out the feelings that had developed over the few weeks she had gotten to know him. And if that was not complicated enough, she now had new feelings that went out to the dark haired man.

Fear. Not the slight anxiety of the unknown fear type that she had before, but true fear. The kind that cripples and impares. The kind that makes every waking moment, and every sleeping nightmare centered around that object of fear. She had thought she had this fear at one point but compared to this it was nothing.

What did he want from her? What would he do? Would he do anything? When would he show up? Was she safe? Were those close to her safe?

Before when those questions arose in her mind there had always been an assuring sense that he would never harm her that overlapped the unknowns. That she had been certain of. But things changed a few nights back, everything changed. That night she had thought he was going to kill her, just as in her earlier nightmare, she thought he would plunge his sparking hand into her chest and decimate her.

She had come out lucky. He had shown her mercy. At least some would say it was mercy. She herself was unsure of what to call it. Because now, this...this was torture. Knowing he was out there, hating her.

She let out a forlorn sigh as she pushed the covers of her bedding from her body and walked to her bathroom. Turning the tap of the bathtub on she ran her fingers under the water until she had found the perfect temperature. As the stream pooled in the tub, she stripped the sweat soaked nightgown from her body. It pulled at her skin uncomfortably and she let it fall at her feet in a crumpled mess before stepping into the tub and lowered herself into the comforting warmth.

It helped calm the lingering darkness that had been conjured by the nightmare and it felt good on her still sore muscles from the exertion she had put them through earlier that week. Again a woeful sigh escaped her as she slid further into the water.

This had been her routine for the past several days, ever since she had come home from what was the longest day of her life. That night, upon their arrival home, Kakashi wanted to talk to her, but she could not bear to continue speaking to him after her earlier lash out. She had been too angry and even now was still hurt. Naruto wanted to talk too but she could not find it within herself to let him cheer her up. She just wanted some space to be miserable. Then Tsunade wanted to interrogate her, but thankfully Kakashi had picked up on her mood by then and talked Tsunade into just letting her be, something that had earned him a little forgiveness and softened her anger.

She had gone straight to her room and drawn a bath in which she had stayed in for hours, numbly scrubbing her skin for the first hour, submerging herself and holding her breath for as long as she could for the second, then the third hour she had just sat vacantly in then cold water, hugging her knees as she stared at the tiled mosaic wall.

That night had been riddled with dreams and nightmares that had meshed together. And every night since had been just the same. Every morning following such nights she had woken drenched in sweat, trembling, and breathing so frantically her whole world spun. And in between her abrupt wakings to falling into her fitful sleep, she had dwelt in her room for the first few days. Like a hermit she sat behind the confines of her bedroom, only occasionally peeking out into the gardens before flopping back down onto the bed to sleep for two or three hours, then she would wake up to consume copious amounts of non nutritional mortal foods that Naruto left at her door in attempt to lure her out and talk. Something she had just begun to do the previous day before.

Sai was still okay. He had been staying with Yamato for the past few days and it seemed it would be his permanent residence for the time being. She knew it was difficult for Sai, but it was a good experience for him. This way he would be forced to have regular interactions with another and so far there had been no troubles, aside from an incident regarding Sai having a lack of boundaries when it came to bathroom etiquette. At least this is what Naruto and Kakashi reported. Her self isolation had kept her cooped up in the heavens. Self isolation or not, Sakura would not be allowed to leave per order of Tsunade, though it was certainly something she was okay with this time. At least in the heavens she was safe. No one could take her from here.

She wanted to talk to someone. But who? The usual people would be Naruto, Kakashi, or Tsunade. But anytime she tried to test run a conversation through her mind, it never flowed the way she wanted it. Tsunade, while having always been a level headed console in the past, had a hatred for Uchiha that ran far too deep for her to be able to understand all sides of what Sakura was feeling. Kakashi, while wise and certainly one with an ability to see all sides of a debate in genuine consideration, was too protective of her. And Naruto, as lovable and eager as he was, was too considerate. He would not be able to give her any council in which he thought would hurt her feelings. That left her with….well...no one.

Even as she came to this conclusion, a yearning to speak to someone rose within her. Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke was the one she wanted to speak with. Even as the idea of being in his presence terrified her to pieces, the urge to speak with him was there. She wanted to rectify and clarify everything, she wanted to make him understand that she had not meant to trick him, that she was not betraying him. But even as she thought of this, the question of if she really had tricked him rose within her mind.

Yes, technically it was true that she was the woman from his past, the mortal girl that...that he had felt something for. But was she really her anymore? Or had she really just been pretending, unconsciously hoping that she could be something that she was not to fill the empty void within her. Because in all reality, that woman had died two thousand years ago, and Sakura was not sure when she was revived if she really did come back the same. There was no telling without her memories.

In short, Sasuke had been right in a way, she was just wearing the face of his Sakura, she was not really her. Not anymore...but she wanted to be.

A part of her, deep down cried out to be her. The part of her that had relished the adoring looks and sweet, sensual caresses that Sasuke had laid upon her. The part of her that craved for her long ago dreams to be reality, before they had been stained and tainted into nightmares. The part of her that mourned the hatred that he had looked at her with.

She let out a sigh and lounged back in the bath. The water sloshed slightly as she let her arms fall from the side into the water as she looked up at the ceiling. Above her hung several plants, their vines clinging to the ceiling and hanging down from the planters that were stung above. It reminded her of the gardens just outside her bedroom window. The jasmine buds were blooming fragrantly above, their floral perfume mixing with the lavender oil in her bath and serving to help her mind find the smallest of ease.

It was not much solace, but it was just enough for a clear idea to pool into her mind and form a thought as she stared up into the green leaves above her, recalling another time when she had done something similar to find someone else staring back. While she could not speak with Sasuke, there was still someone who perhaps could understand what she was feeling. Not just understand but have an insight to the workings of Sasuke's mind. A fellow tortured soul that was torn between logical, moral, and personal emotions when it came to the young princeling of the underworld.

She sat up in the bath as the face, so close and similar, yet not so similar when truly compared to Sasuke, popped into her mind. Itachi. Of course, if anyone could have the slightest understanding and give her council, it would be his brother.

She had not seen him since that first time in the gardens, but she had felt an immediate kinship to him. While she failed to believe such a connection was the same for him, he seemed the giving type. The type to take pity on her and offer what she needed.

Today was the day of the peace signings. It was to take place first thing this morning. She was not an official person of the group chosen to represent the blessed during the signing, and she was positive that Tsunade would not want her there. But certainly if she just stayed in the shadows, there could be an opportunity for her to speak to him.

The sound of water splashing and dripping against tile filled the room as she abruptly stood and stepped out of the bath. Haphazardly she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself as she dashed to her closet, as she went about preparing herself as quickly, but as presentable as possible.

---

"Itachi," came his father's voice from the doorway. "It's time."

Itachi looked at his father from the reflection of the mirror he stood in front of. With a silent nod, he finished dressing and turned to make his way. There was something relieving about the day. While things had been relatively peaceful between the fallen and blessed realms, there was something about peace being official that brought his several thousand years worth of stress and worry to an end. Finally after a lifetime of warring and rumors of warring, Itachi would finally see peace. Maybe perhaps he would be allowed to come and go to the heavens, enjoy the lush and colorful gardens that grew there and meet with new acquaintances like curious little angels that looked like mortals.

Sakura, now that was certainly a mystery and problem he would not mind spending some time solving. She was different from the other blessed. First off, she did not look at him the way the others did, with hidden contempt and dislike. They only saw what he did for the sake of their duty, not him. But Sakura...she looked at him and spoke with him as if there was nothing that divided them. They were just equals, colleagues with different roles that were equally important.

But that was not what intrigued him the most. It was the connection she had with his brother. When he had seen Sasuke last, it had only confirmed his suspicions. Sakura the seraph was Sakura the mortal. Only she wasn't mortal, she was pretending to be...but why? And how could they trick Sasuke so easily? His brother was nothing less than paranoid and observant. If there was anything amiss he would know. But it seemed that she passed the rigorous scrutiny of his brother, Sakura was an identical match to Sasuke's mortal from long ago.

As always he was not a believer of fate for their kind but still, the coincidence of this doppelgänger was hard to believe was a random chance. But if it meant bringing his brother back home and healing him of his pain, Itachi was willing to believe in anything.

When he spotted his mother waiting for him at the end of the hall with a warm smile, his pondering died down. Accepting his mother's offer of a hug he gave her a light squeeze before releasing her.

"I will walk you to the portal," she said, looping and arm through his, when he released her.

"You are not coming?"

She shook her head. "Your father wants me to stay in case something goes wrong."

Itachi rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "If this is going to be successful we need to have trust."

Mikoto patted her son's arm. "Yes dear but trust is a slow thing to be earned. I know you experienced the war but it was near the end when most had already died. Not all Senju were like Tsunade. There were some that were not so gentle and willing to save, we had our fair share as well but still, it's hard to recover from. We all still remember."

Itachi gave out a hum that made Mikoto take her turn to roll her eyes.

They came into a large cavern with a spider web of passageways spindling from this central one, taking a sharp turn they moved down a long narrow corridor. It was a tight fit, the unevenly carved walls forcing Itachi to take a place behind his mother as they walked quietly until the rock wall opened up into a tall, oval shaped cavern.

Forming a semi circle around the edges were several variously styled archways and gateways. However instead of seeing the rocky wall that was on the other side of each of them, the air between the masonry that made up the frames shimmered and flowed with a viscosity of mercury. But instead of the metallic silver of mercury, the color was a cloudy opaque that, depending on the doorway, was lighter or darker than the neighboring one. The difference in color was dependent on the realm that one would find themselves should they step through. At the base of each threshold was a set of stairs that led to each doorway.

At the pinnacle of the oval room stood the tallest portal on the highest rise. Its staircase curved up the dark stone base until reaching the flat ledge in which two white obelisks stood tall and contrasting until a carved bowing beam connected them at the top. All down the sides were intricate carvings with crystals and gems placed into the workings, creating a colored mosaic that sparked in the dim light as they reflected the light coming from the brightest of all the shimmering portals.

Most of the council members were gathered at its base, some of them looking how Itachi felt while others looked more reserved and wary of today's outcomes. Mikoto watched her son look around the room with the smallest of frowns as he took in the latter of the two groups. Reaching her free arm to his forearm that was again linked with her own, she gave it a squeeze, causing him to look down at her.

"Do not worry," she said. "I know you will see to it that everything will go well and you will keep peace." She looked to her husband who was walking around and speaking with some fellow contingent members. "And your father will too. I know he does not always seem it, but peace is what he wants."

After this, Fugaku took his place in front of the gathering to address them. He looked out around the group, his everly present grimace seeming slightly lighter with what was about to happen. Clearing his throat, the room fell quiet as they all turned to look where he was standing.

"I know many of you are skeptical of this day, but the outcome of its success is something that will change our lives for the better. We are not weak, nor will this make us weaker. We are still the children of Indra, our powers and purpose will not be weakened or diminished with this alliance."

He looked around, seeing that many agreed but there were still too many in the gathering that seemed to not be in the same mindset as him. He looked to his wife who gave the smallest of nods and encouraging smiles. And it was all he needed to regain his confidence. Being a ruler was not necessarily anything he had wanted or planned for. It was not anything he had truly believed would be set upon him when he married his wife. Back then no one believed Madara would ever be gone. Yet here he was, standing in Madara's place. And it was obvious that it was to the displeasure of still more than he was comfortable with.

"I can see that some are still not fully committed to what will be happening today. And as your ruler," he said with a warning flash of his sharingan, "I will not tolerate it. This is our life now, these are our ways. Your loyalty and your dedication will be to keeping to this peace treaty. No longer will we live in the shadowed world that Madara一"

There was a flash of light and gust of wind that came from two portals down, interrupting his speech while everyone in the room looked to the portal that had been activated. Fugaku's hand came up to shield his eyes from the bright light and as the gust of wind died down, a voice took over and echoed around the room.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

As the deep voice echoed around the cavern, everyone froze and as the flash of light dimmed down to reveal the speaker. There standing at the plain looking gateway with the portal swirling behind him, stood Madara. His dark eyes glinted with a crazed mirth as he looked down at the small gathering at the floor of the portal room.

"Madara," Fugaku whispered in disbelief. "But your…"

"Dead?" Madara finished for him when he drifted off. No one replied but the expressions on all of their faces only confirmed they had shared this belief. Madara let out a bark of laughter and began to descend the stairs.

"I don't understand? How are you alive?" Fugaku questioned, his tone becoming slightly firmer and challenging as he recovered from his initial shock. "You do not seem the type to lower yourself to a rogue and collect souls merely for the purpose of survival on the surface."

Madara grinned. "The flame," he answered simply before elaborating, "I am the one who holds the flame of the underworld, the one that was held by my father and his predecessor, and the one before him, all the way down to Indra. Whoever holds the flame can dwell outside the realm for as long as they have it. And whoever holds the flame rules this realm, such as it has been since the Indra broke through the earthen surface."

He looked around at the group, he could see the surprise and fear in their eyes. All of them worried what he was going to do. It was something he reveled in. It had been long since he had felt this kind of influence, this kind of command, and it brought him even greater pleasure that this was just a small taste of what was to come.

Those who dwelt on the surface were all survivors, only looking out for themselves and they were already rebellious in nature, but these people, they were subjects. Ones that were now back under his power. Mirthfully he noted the few glances that seemed to hold a surprised, but excited gleam to see him returned. Obviously not everyone had become so weak minded as he thought and they still held true to the teachings and meaning of what it was to be a fallen.

"Why do you all seem surprised upon my return, surely you did not all think me dead?...Especially you Fugaku." He let his dark eyes fall upon his grim faced brother-in-law. "Ever wonder why there are so many rogues leaving this realm? Why you couldn't seem to truly rule them? Control them?" he questioned, feeling a satisfaction come from the unease of Fugaku. Obviously he had noted his lack of power and command over the underworld. It must have driven him mad feeling so weak. "From the rumors I've heard on the surface, it seems our once glorious kingdom has fallen, but not in a good way as our forefathers fell for the better. This realm has become a joke to the many rogue demons in disarray on the surface, which is unacceptable."

Madara clucked his tongue as he shook his head to the side, causing Fugaku to glance around nervously towards his wife. Madara followed his attention and looked at his younger sister. It had been a long time since he had seen her and he was struck with how much she looked like their mother. There was a reason why he had always shown Fugaku favoritism and it was all for his sister. Mikoto was deathly white as she held firmly to her oldest son's arm and looked at her husband with concern.

"Oh do not worry sister," Madara said gently to his beloved sister. While Izuna had been the one he was closest with, he had always had a soft spot for Mikoto, even with the centuries of age that separated them, practically making their relationship one that resembled distant cousins at best. "I do not blame your husband for the neglect of our home. He did his best. Really I should be blamed due to my prolonged departure, I left without establishing a successor and transferring the flame and the powers of the Will that come with it to another. My lack of preparation is inexcusable but I had not meant to be away for so long...I was not myself."

He gave a strange smile that did not match the look in his dark eyes. No one spoke up as he seemed to be caught up for a moment before jarring himself from his thoughts.

"But I have returned to restore our home," he suddenly said with a lighter tone. "And it seems just in time." He came to a stop and placed a hand on Fugaku's shoulder, giving it a comradic squeeze. "We have some cleaning up to do despite your efforts. But I have no doubt you will continue to work just as hard back under my rule. There won't be any...disagreements over who is in charge, now that the flame has been brought back...which I possess."

He gave Fugaku a hard look that gave the thinner man no other option but to mutely comply and submit to Madara. Madara smirked with satisfaction before his eyes flicked to where Itachi was standing stiffly next to Mikoto. He sent a smirk to his stony faced nephew.

"Itachi," he chimed. "So good to see you."

Itachi said nothing. He remained silent as he glared back at his uncle and continued to support his mother who was trembling next to him, no doubt worried that her husband was about to be torn apart at any moment.

"What is with all the sullen looks," he questioned. "I would think a family reunion would be a happy occasion?" When no one replied he snapped his fingers. "Oh yes, that's right, maybe it's because we have not been all reintroduced, maybe you will all be more happy to see who I brought back with me!" He stepped back and theatrically gestured up to the portal that he had entered in from the mortal realm. "Sasuke," he called out. "Why don't you come out and say hello to dear mum and dad."

Itachi's eyes widened as he watched his brother, his foolish, foolish little brother, step out from behind the pillars of the realm gate.

"Sasuke," he heard his mother whisper.

Sasuke's eyes went directly to his mother, it had been two thousand years since he had seen her and his eyes lingered longer than his usual indifference.

Sasuke, Itachi thought to himself, what have you gotten yourself into?

"Mother, father," Sasuke said, greeted in monotone. He looked to his brother. "Itachi," he nodded. "Good to see you."

"I wish I could say the same," Itachi said slowly as he silently challenged what was going on in his brother's mind.

An awkward silence fell upon them which was broken when Madara let out a small snort of amusement and turned around to walk up a few steps of the curved staircase that led to the heavenly portal. He paused halfway up and turned around.

"Well," he said, raising his brow, "don't we have some peace talks to get to?"

---

The council, among a few others were already gathered near the portal that led to the underworld. This portal was normally deactivated but for occasions such as today, it glowered with a warm shimmer that opaquely revealed the other world in which it was connected, though there was hardly anything to be seen given the dimness on the other side. It seemed grim. Sakura had oftentimes wondered what the underworld realm was like, though she had never believed she would have a chance to see it. Even with the peace treaty about to be agreed to, the fear her imagination painted of such a place made her hesitant to desire crossing the threshold.

Peeking around the stone pillar of the ancient outdoor shrine that the portal was located in, she looked around for a place in which she could watch more closely without being seen. As she searched, she caught Kakashi looking in her direction and froze. Sakura had been told specifically to stay away the night before, but she could not help but be drawn. However, the anxiety that she felt when she saw Kakashi's dark eye on her dissipated when his head twitched in the smallest of gestures. Sakura followed the direction and spotted a large statue near the outskirts of the gathering. It had a large bass which she could easily hide behind, and the curtain of untamed ivy that was over taking the towering statue, was just thin enough for her to peek through while still remaining hidden. Behind it was a small path which she could easily access and approach without being seen.

She looked back to Kakashi who gave her a quick wink and turned to Tsunade, distracting her wandering eyes as he spoke to her. Sakura could not help but feel a warmth of appreciation go out to Kakashi and again, she found herself forgiving him a little more for the other night. He truly was just looking out for her, keeping her safe but also doing his best to give her freedoms when others failed to see her curious need. Which only made him thinking her life was worth more, all the worse. Kakashi was ten times the better seraph she could ever hope to be.

Ducking down she went around the stone wall that circled around the portal area before finding the overgrown path that led through a small arch. Bending low, she quickly and quietly crept to the pedestal of the statue. It was a depiction of an archangel standing guard with a full suit of armor and his wings spread wide in an aggressive stance. Between his legs, Sakura peeked over the base of the depicted angel and gently pushed aside some of the vines to peer at the gathering. Her location put her close enough to make out what was being said by those speaking, as well as giving her a full view of the portal.

She had settled just in time to see the first of the fallen to pass through the shimmering veil. It looked like a pool of dark water defying gravity as it rippled from where the figure emerged from the dark depths of the underworld.

Sakura did not fully recognize the man, not that she knew many demons to recognize, but there was still a familiar look to his hair and eyes. Though the scowl on his face was certainly a unique feature, lined and tight as if permanently there. It was certainly not the look of someone who was there to sign a peace treaty.

When the second person came from the portal, Sakura immediately made the connection when she saw the same familiar eyes and hair line in the face of someone she actually did know. She recognized Itachi immediately and she believed she could now identify the first man. The grim look on Itachi's face, while not what she remembered as one of his usual features, served to highlight the similarity. With such similar features, she could only assume it was Fugaku, the current Lord of the underworld and father to Itachi and Sasuke.

It was like there was a jinx on his name for as soon as she thought of the second son's name, Sasuke himself emerged from the threshold, causing Sakura to force herself to stifle a gasp as she stared at the stony faced man. He came to a shortstop, lingering behind his father and brother near the frame of the portal. His dark eyes moved across the small semi circle that the gathering of blessed had formed when the arrival of the fallen had begun. It was as if he were searching for something as he quickly breezed over the faces, only pausing slightly when he spotted Naruto and Kakashi. The pair looked heavily unsteady as they looked at him with the same shock Sakura had felt.

A few other fallen streamed through the portal behind him but they all seemed to go unnoticed as Sasuke drew the attention of most. Tsunade took a step forward, her eyes narrowed at Sasuke as she directed herself at Fugaku.

"Fugaku," Tsunade began, "I was unaware that both of your sons were to be here today," she said, a slight warning and alarm in her tone as she turned her attention to the demon Lord. "What is the meaning of this? We had an approved list of those who would attend. Fifteen from the blessed, Fifteen from the fallen, and your son-" she pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, her voice venomous- "was not on that list."

Fugaku only grimly exchanged a look with his oldest son before looking back to his youngest.

"Fugaku!" Tsunade snapped, her tone sharp. "That boy needs to leave now, he is not welcome—"

"I must apologize for the improper manners and lack of decorum when it came to our répondez s'il vous plaît. But that faux pas is not to be blamed on my dear brother-in-law."

A cold ripple seemed to emanate through the gathering of seraphim and Tsunade immediately looked to the entrance of the portal. She paled the moment her eyes fell upon the large figure of the man who had murdered and maimed her family for centuries, the man who had practically made hunting Senju down a sport. The man who was the reason the last time such a planned event ended in disaster, Madara Uchiha.

She was not the only one disturbed by his presence. It was obvious that this was the source of grimness planted on Fugaku and Itachi's faces upon their arrival. And there was a hushed silence that everything seemed to bow to, even the wildlife and foliage seemed to still and quiet.

Sakura, standing behind the statue stopped breathing, fearing that even the smallest morsel of breath would be too loud. All shock and unease of Sasuke's appearance was forgotten but not lost, it was only exponentially increased to a degree that had Sakura literally trembling at the knees.

She had only seen this man described in the text of ancient tomes and a few pieces of art that the heavens had in their collections. The most impressionable had always been the one found in the circular throne room. The menacing man portrayed in the painting hanging in that room had always made her uneasy. However now, as she looked at the impossible form that inspired such art, she felt it did not do him justice. But as she looked at the towering demon whose presence seemed to just command the elements themselves, she wondered if there was anything that could possibly prepare a person for seeing Madara Uchiha for the first time.

"H-how is this possible?"

The fear that Sakura could easily hear in Tsunade's question did not help with the fear she was feeling. From the shadows, Sakura's eyes wildly moved between Tsunade and Madara as she grasped at the granite rock in anticipation for what would come of this unexpected turn of events.

"Well it's very simple," Madara said, taking a few steps forward, the seraphs of the fallen realm stepping to the side to give him a wide berth, while the blessed retreated back. "From what I hear, everyone thought I was dead. Seems some gossip was blown out of proportion because as you can see-" he indicated at his body- "I am very much alive."

Tsunade did not reply immediately, unsure of what to say and too afraid of what the answer would be. But finally, after a long pause, she found enough courage to ask what she feared his reappearance meant.

"So you have come to finish what you always meant? End the Senju line, perhaps kill the rest of those within this realm so that you can finally sit in the throne that your bastard ancestor tried to take?"

A shadow passed over most of the fallens faces at her degradation of Indra. The original fallen was a hero to them, a legend that they valued greatly for what he did. However, to his credit, Madara did not even bat an eyelash. Instead he gave a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Of course not," Madara defended unconvincingly. "No that is not what I came here to do at all. Though I must apologize, I believe today's agenda involved a peace signing which, and again I do apologize, will have to be postponed." He nodded his head to Fugaku. "You see, my brother-in-law arranged something on behalf of our faction that he unknowingly had no sanction to do. Only I am the one who can approve such things and I am not one to sign contracts without first reading the fine print," he gave a satisfied grin.

"Though do not worry," he assured, "I believe we have the same intentions, I too would like to see all seraphim unified once more, however I will need to ask that you give me some time. I need to get my house in order before I can make any big commitments. It seems those who are under my realm have become a little rebellious, so I have decided that it is time to round them up. I've heard your archangels have done well in trying to clean up their mess and the havoc that has been taking place in the surface realm, but now that I am back, I have decided to personally take up that responsibility again."

"Do you really think I would believe that you have any intentions that would correlate with the heavens?" She looked at Fugaku. "Do you agree with this?"

"Of course he does," Madara answered for the other Uchiha. "They all do, we are all unified by the Will of the underworld's Lord, which would be my will. I have no issues with taking up the duties again. And I swear to the gods my dear Tsunade, I have every intention in unifying our kind."

Tsunade didn't trust him. He could make a covenant oath and she would not believe him. He had already seemed to come back from the dead so what would he have to fear should he break such an oath. However at this moment she had to go along with his game he was obviously playing. Her people were not ready, she was not ready. By the looks of Fugaku and Itachi, they too had not been expecting this today. However, her eyes went to Sasuke standing casually behind them with his arms crossed and face blank. Him, that brat, she had no doubt had played a role in this.

Automatically her thoughts went to Sakura and she worried what Sasuke would have told Madara. And new fear arose within her and she looked back to Madara, doing her best to calm her mind and think clearly.

"So if you have no intention in signing the treaty today then why are you here?"

Madara strolled up to Tsunade, circling her like a vulture once, before stopping in front of her. "Two reasons," he said, holding up two fingers. "The first being that I wanted to reestablish who exactly is running things down below. And the second-" He put down a finger- "is as I said, I am putting my house back in order, gathering my sheep as the good book of the mortals says. I figured I would start with the ones that have somehow wandered all the way up here."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "We do not have any of your kind up here."

Madara raised his brow. "Really," he said with feigned surprise. "Because my sources tell me otherwise, you wouldn't mind if I just...look around would you?"

He moved to step around her but Tsunade moved to block him, her arms folding beneath her heavy bosom as she glared at him. "Actually I do mind."

Madara frowned. "Now is that a way to treat a soon to be ally? Really Tsunade," his eyes wandered around, taking in the surroundings.

He paused when his eyes fell on an ivy shrouded statue. For a moment he nearly missed it as it was the faintest difference in shade, but his ocular prowess was designed for catching such subtle details. There, blended in with the dark green ivy, was a pair of vivid green eyes that peaked and contrasted brightly with the foliage. The widening of them and faintest of gasps he heard only confirmed it.

"Well it seems maybe I don't need to go so far into your realm as I expected," Madara commented, raising a hand to point in the direction of the statue. "I think I found a little lamb already."

Tsunade turned to look in the direction of the statue. At first she was confused but then she caught sight of Kakashi standing stiffly with a drained pallor in the part of his face not hidden by his mask. No, she thought. She shook her head at the silver seraph, silently pleading with him to deny what she was thinking, but Kakashi only gave her a grim look from behind his mask. Her heart sank as she turned to look up to Madara who was still looking gleefully curious at the statue. He raised his arm and waved a hand.

"Why don't you come out little one," he said with a beckon. "I promise we don't bite, word is you already know some of us."

Sakura did not move a single eyelash as she watched Madara curl his fingers to motion for her to come out of her spot. Her eyes moved fractionally to look at Tsunade then to Kakashi who had turned to look at her, looking ashen. After a length of time without moving, she noticed Madara narrow his eyes and she felt a compulsion to come out now, before Madara became angry.

Timidly she stepped out from the shadows and foliage. At her emergence, Madara gave a satisfied smile that seemed to confirm something for him. "Well, well, who do we have here?" Madara mused.

Tsunade was already walking towards Sakura, taking her hand and pulling her behind her. "She is no one," Tsunade said, turning back around.

Madara raised a single brow. "She certainly doesn't seem like no one. You are Sakura, correct?" he asked, giving his attention to the pinkette that was half hidden by the larger woman who stood in front of her.

Sakura's eyes widened, taken aback by his knowledge of her name but then her eyes fell on Sasuke, who glanced at her once before looking away, fixating his attention on Madara instead who had also looked to Sasuke as well. Sasuke gave the smallest of nods, causing Madara to turn back and set his eyes on Sakura.

"My nephew has told me a little about you," he said. "I became curious about why a blessed seraph would grab his attention. But now I see," he said loquaciously. "You are quite a beauty. May I ask what your lineage is? Perhaps I am familiar with some of your ancestors?"

Sakura stayed mute as she peeked at him from behind her adoptive mother, unsure as to how to answer him. She knew Tsunade had always meant for her adoptive status to be quiet to outsiders but even still, she couldn't help but feel like she needed to answer him.

"She is my daughter," Tsunade suddenly answered, surprising Sakura that she would give such information to Madara so easily. "And she is not supposed to be here so if you'll excuse her…" Tsunade turned to push Sakura towards the exit but Madara's voice stopped her.

"A daughter," he said in surprise. "Well it seems congratulations seems to be in order, who ever thought the Senju would make a comeback."

Tsunade turned around, her face slightly pale. She had admitted Sakura's relation to her in an attempt to solidify her being a normal seraph, but she had forgotten what attaching Sakura to her lineage meant to the man she was speaking to.

"She is not Senju," she quickly said. "I adopted her. Her lineage is unknown as she was orphaned when you decided to destroy the earthen commune."

Madara gave a false look of sympathy. "My condolences," he said, looking at Sakura. "I hope you do not resent me too harshly for the events of the past. It seems even the youngest of us are still affected by the wars that raged so long ago. That is the unfortunate thing about war, too many innocents suffer. But I do hope that we can perhaps come to an agreement that the past is messy, but if we can come to resolve things in the present, the foreseeable future can be quite orderly. Do you agree little one?"

When Sakura did not respond, Madara looked to Tsunade. "Perhaps I lied earlier when I came here for only two things. But it seems that a third task has presented itself. I hate to do this but it seems that back when the earthen sanctuary was...should we say removed from existence, you took something that did not belong here in the heavens."

Tsunade's heart pounded quickly within her as she scrambled to keep up with Madara's game. Her mind whirled about as she tried to think of what he was talking about. But then she looked at Sasuke and the thought of the cup...the chalice that she had sent Sasuke to retrieve from the Uchiha shrine that night long ago.

She stared at Sasuke, trying to read his face but the boy was too practiced in keeping his features blank. But even if Sasuke had told him of the cup, Tsunade did not take it. Sasuke had been the one to remove it from the Uchiha temple. And technically the chalice's original resting place had been the heavens before Indra had stolen it the first time. But technicalities aside, it did not matter, given the fact that she had no idea where the chalice was anymore. There had been other events that night that distracted her from taking it back with her to the heavens. And when she did think to return it to its original home, the cup was gone. Most likely pillaged by mortals that had been attracted by the destruction of the earthen seraph city. She had often kept track of the mortals' legends of the holy grail, keeping tabs of the rumors in hopes that maybe the chalice had appeared and mistaken as such. So far she had no such luck.

"What are you talking about?" she replied defensively. "We have nothing here that was stolen."

Madara lifted a hand and pointed a finger just past Tsunade's shoulder, right where Sakura was. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"Are you out of your gods damned mind?!" Tsunade yelled. "She is my daughter!"

"Adoptive daughter," Madara corrected before adding, "as you put it. So no actual blood connection."

"That doesn't change a thing," Tsunade growled with the ferocity of a mother bear. "She is still my daughter."

"Ah yes...well this is certainly an awkwardness that I wanted to avoid." Madara gave her a sympathetic look. "Believe me Tsunade, I take no pleasure in breaking up families," Madara slipped in, "but, it seems when you took this little starling in, you took one of my own. I do not doubt you have taken care of her, but she should be where she belongs."

Tsunade barred her teeth as golden light flashed behind her, summoning her wings as she aggressively snarled at Madara. "Sakura is my daughter and you will not take her away from me so long as I breathe! You have no claims to her, she belongs in the heavens with her family."

"Oh but I think I do have a claim to her. And I would be happy to put it to a test."

"What are you talking about?"

"The loyalty bond," Madara simply stated. "If Sakura is under my Will, then the gods dictate she is my subject."

"Fuck your Will!"

Madara tsked disapprovingly. "Language, language Tsunade…you younger generations know nothing about proper manors and behavior of a heavenly being," he chastised. "And I am afraid your disregard for manners will not stand on their own when it comes to the laws." His face became more serious. "You know the rules, Tsunade. When the factions were created each ruler was given jurisdiction over all subjects to do as they will of them, so long as we continue to see that our factions duties are done.

"I am sure as a parent you found yourself tempted to use your Will to keep her in line at one time or another. Word is that she hasn't exactly followed your instructions which makes me question where her loyalty lies."

"Unlike you I don't abuse that archaic power!"

"And maybe that was the downfall of the blessed," he said, his polite mannerism and airy persona slipping to his true nature.

"It doesn't matter," Tsunade argued firmly. "Sakura is blessed."

"Then if you are so sure there shouldn't be a problem testing that." Madara raised a challenging brow. "I give you my word, if Sakura does not bend to my Will she can stay here, unless you want to use your own Will and prove she is yours?" Tsunade remained silent and Madara gave her a snide look. "I didn't think so."

Sakura was completely lost. Why was Madara talking as if she wasn't blessed? Tsunade had created her, she was made by a blessed and hadn't her mortal soul been pure, or at least pure enough for her to end in the heavens had she not been turned? What was Madara talking about testing her loyalty? She was loyal to Tsunade, her family, to the heavens, she would never betray them. However as Madara opened his mouth she felt her heart skip right before Tsunade whirled around looking at her desperately, pleadingly.

"Sakura leave now," she said forcefully. "Do not listen to him or do anything he says, just turn around and leave."

Sakura's green eyes moved back and forth as she took Tsunade in, scared and panicked at what was happening. She took a paused step back then moved to turn until a deep resounding command erupted into the air.

"Stop."

Sakura's feet instantly froze as if glued to the ground. She turned her head, looking back with wide eyes to a horrified looking Tsunade, to a stunned Kakashi and panicked Naruto, then to a smirking Madara. Behind him she noticed Sasuke shift slightly but she was unable to focus on him, only Madara.

"Come here Sakura," Madara commanded again, raising a hand out to her and smirking wickedly.

Sakura was surprised by the overwhelming pull of obedience her body was overcome with. Before she knew what was happening, her feet were taking her past Tsunade and towards Madara. She tried to stop herself but the moment she tried to stay her feet, it felt like she was standing on hot coals. She suppressed a whimper of pain which was instantly alleviated when her feet began to move forward again.

As she walked by Naruto, her friend grabbed a hold of her arm. "Sakura what are you doing?" he said in a panic.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply but only a pained grunt came from her throat as what felt like pins and needles split open her head. The pain was so intense she could hardly see, all she could register was a tugging on her arm as her feet moved to keep going only to remain anchored in place by Naruto's strong grip, causing her feet to feel like she was standing on hot coals again.

"Naruto let her go," Kakashi quickly instructed, realizing what was happening.

Naturo looked at his teacher as if he had lost his mind. "But-"

"You are hurting her!" Kakashi said urgently.

Nartuo looked to Sakura whose face was pulled in pain as she tugged at her arm. Instantly he let go as he realized what was happening. The Willl, she was going against Madara's Will and this was her punishment. He had never seen the Will of a seraph ruler be actually used. Tsunade vowed to never use it and his own father had only used it on very rare occasions, and never in front of him. Instantly he let go and she stumbled forward, the pain immediately seeming to disappear the moment she was moving forward again.

As Tsunade watched Sakura walk towards Madara with jerky steps, Tsunade's heart plummeted. It grew even more painful to watch when Sakura looked back at her with confusion, but to Tsunade it looked like betrayal. There was one more thing she had failed to tell Sakura when she divulged their secrets. However, Tsunade had not told her because she herself was not even sure. She had hoped and denied the possibility of it, but in this moment, it was even worse than she had ever imagined when she initially had the suspicion.

---

Ancient Greece: The night of the Fallen's attack

Tsunade hovered over the girl as she tilted the still girl's head back. Her mouth opened and Tsunade held her finger over her parted lips as she focused a dense chakra to the tip. Like a dew drop, her chakra pooled at the tip of her finger before falling into Sakura's mouth with a silent drip.

She looked up at Naruto. "Quickly, the chalice."

Naruto handed over the chalice that had just been recently refilled. Quickly she sprinkled some dried blood she had managed to wipe off Sasuke before he had raged off. She swirled the liquid around until it was dissolved. Carefully, Tsunade lifted the girl back slightly, and like before, when Sasuke had been present, she pressed the brim of the cup to her lips and let it slowly trickle in her mouth. When the cup was empty, she laid her back down and shifted slightly away as silence fell around them.

"Nothings happening," Naruto said, disrupting the silence. "Did you do it wrong?"

Tsunade shook her head to the side as she stared at the girl, unwilling to look at the desperate stare of the blue eyed boy across from her as he leaned over the pinkettes body. While she hated Uchihas, the look on the Uchiha boy's face had been a reminder of a grief that she knew all too well.

"I don't know," Tsunade admitted. "Maybe I needed more Uchiha blood."

Naruto looked back up from Sakura to Tsunade. "Then we need to bring Sasuke back. I can send a summon to tell him to come back and he will give more! He will give anything you need, I know it."

Tsunade shook her head and Naruto was about to open his mouth again and argue when a sudden gasp was emitted by Sakura. Naruto fell backwards, startled, but sat back up as he took in her face. Her eyes snapped open to reveal her usually green irises had lightened and warmed to a golden shade. Not just her irises but even the whites flowed with golden light. Then her back bowed as her spine lifted from the ground and her face contorted into only what Naruto could assume was pain, a lot of pain.

This guess was proven correct when the escaping gasp of air turned into a cry of agony. A sound that made even those who heard it feel pain within themselves as the tortured sound filled their ears. When her body began to contort and seize, Naruto moved to touch her but stopped halfway when Tsunade gave a command.

"Don't touch her!"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked as his hands went to his ears instead to try and dampen her screams. Unable to stand hearing such anguish and not able to stop it. His blue orbs moved from Sakura's suffering body to Tsunade, who was staring down at the girl with a mixture of compassion and fascination.

"She's changing."

Naruto's eyes crumpled. "Changing?"

His concern of what change was occurring was disbanded when Sakura's body began to cease its seizing and only discomfort and pain seemed to be playing a role in her body. Her limbs moved slightly, her legs restlessly moving as her knees bent slightly before straightening again and her hands clenched and unclenched steadily.

"Help me roll her over," Tsunade instructed.

Obediently Naruto, as well as Kakashi who had taken a spot at Sakura's feet, helped roll her over into her stomach. Or at least they tried to before Sakura seemed to move on her own accord. Her eyes snapped open again, the familiar green restored but while it was the same color, there was something more to them. Something of a higher sight as they vacantly looked ahead. Moving unsteadily like a newborn fowl, she sat on her knees before slumping forward slightly to support herself with her hands. Her lips pulled back into a grimace as her teeth gritted with grunts and groans of pain that seeped between them.

It was then that Naruto noticed the movement on her back. It was like the bones were popping and breaking beneath her skin and made him feel sick to his stomach to watch. But he could not look away as something began to emerge from beneath her skin. Something sleek and dark.

It was not until they were halfway out and one wing unfolded, that Naruto realized just what exactly they were. A pair of ebony feathered wings, rich with a well oiled luster spread out around her, cascading down her back and to graze the ground beneath her.

It was beautiful...but it was all wrong.

He looked to Tsunade with wide eyes as the dawning of what exactly just happened hit him.

'She is changing.'

Her earlier words did not make sense then but now they did. Tsunade had just transformed Sakura into a seraph. When he took in the blonde woman's face, he saw her looking down at Sakura with a crumpled brow...no, not at Sakura, but at her wings.

The moment her wings had fully emerged from her back Sakura fell forward, she avoided falling onto the hard rocks of the ground when Kakashi reached out and caught her. Slowly, he lowered her down to rest her head in his lap while keeping her back faced up, as he too stared down at her dark wings. If there was anyone who knew what that meant it was him. However...even as he stared down at the blackened wings, he found himself perplexed by the abomination that he too shared. It made him rethink the use of such a word because how could Sakura, lovely sweet Sakura, ever be considered an abomination. For her, he had to call it a strange phenomenon.

"Naruto," Tsunade suddenly asked as Sakura's whimpers died down with the gentle soothing of Kakashi's hand on her head of hair. "I thought you said she was a pure soul?"

"She...she is," Naruto defended, looking up to only find Tsunade looking to Kakashi for confirmation.

"It's true," Kakashi said. "There was not a single tarnish on her soul...I even thought her to be a true pure but…" He drifted off looking back at her wings.

Tsunade glared down at the pile of ebony protruding from Sakura's back as she thought. No one had ever told her of such results. But then again, to her knowledge, no one had ever created a seraph since the gods created the first of their kind. That was the problem with such well kept secrets, truths were bent and knowledge was lost.

"What exactly was her relationship with the Uchiha boy?"

She looked to Naruto but found him not paying attention to her, he was still staring at the black feathers of Sakura's wings, so she turned to Kakashi.

"Was it not obvious enough?" Kakashi asked dryly. "You saw the look on his face, the way he reacted, the evolution of his eyes. That would have taken the loss of a strong bond for something like that to happen. And I cannot deny that Sakura's connection with him was just as seemingly strong, if not more. She had a lot of love to give." He paused for a moment, looking at Tsunade curiously. "You are not suggesting…"

Tsunade nodded absentmindedly. "What other explanation would it be? It is my understanding that your wings darkened when you came to possess something that belonged to a fallen? Your eye." Kakashi nodded. "Then could it also happen if she possessed something that belonged to a fallen...to an Uchiha as well for that matter?"

"But that is all figuratively. I literally possess a piece of a fallen within me. I hold Obito Uchiha's eye within me. Don't you think that would be a stretch in her case?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto inquired, causing the two older seraphs to look at him.

They exchanged a glance before Tsunade explained her theory. "I think, due to Sasuke and Sakura's...connection, one could say that Sakura had given her heart to the Uchiha, meaning that the heart that beats within her belongs to him. While she had a pure soul and would have no doubt belonged to the god tree and heavens, her heart belonged to a fallen, causing the...discoloration."

Naruto stared at her, unable to think of how to respond. Finally, he managed to speak up. "But what is there to worry about, Kakashi has discolored wings and he is good. Sakura would never—"

"Being a fallen or blessed is not a matter of being good or evil," Kakashi interrupted. "That is a matter of what we are trained and raised. However our allegiance is dictated by that."

"What do you mean?"

"He means," Tsunade answered for Kakashi, "is that when the ruler of a seraph sect uses their Will...I don't know which one she will obey."

---

Present Day:

Back then, when she first thought it, Sakura was just a little mortal she had saved from the cusps of death. But now...now Sakura was her daughter. Her daughter that she loved with every fiber of her being. She had gone to great lengths to protect and keep her safe from the type of monster that she was now walking towards. Madara, with his arms stretched out as if welcoming a long lost child back home, only it was Tsunade's child that was entering into the snare of his demon claws.

Sakura found herself standing before the ancient Uchiha that had been the image of nightmares she had dared not dream. And then he was touching her. His hand came to cup her chin as he inspected her like some sort of steed to be bought, and then he grinned at her and his arms wrapped around her in an awkward hug. He was a tall man, Sakura could not even see past his shoulder but from the crook of his arm, she could see Sasuke glance at her. And for the first time he did not immediately look away.

At first there was nothing in his face, it was blank of anything but even still, she kept her eyes locked on him as if somehow he would have answers. Eventually he looked away with a twitch of his eyes, but not before she saw the smallest of cracks in his mask and she saw an uncomfortable look in his face. What the cause of discomfort was she couldn't really say. It could be that he had reverted back to not being able to look at her because of what she was, but a small part of her could not help but wonder if there had been guilt in that look as well.

She was only allowed this brief exchange before she found herself being turned back around as Madara guided her to stand at her side and face the gathering of blessed seraphs across from them. The atmosphere felt more like a war room then the peace treaty signing it should have been as she took in the confused, hostile, and horrified looks of various council members and members of the blessed. The horror and pain being reflected in Tsunade, Kakashi and Naruto's eyes, was the most painful. Seeing her family looking so broken made her insides feel as if they were cracking and at any given moment, she would shatter.

"I appreciate how well you have taken care of our little lost sheep but it's time she comes back to the fold," Madara said. "Don't worry, she will be well taken care of. We shall make sure she thrives in her true home. I will see to it personally that she does not get neglected."

Tsunade was glaring at him as her arms shook right down to her clenched fists, where chakra was already beginning to pool, readying for a fight.

"Why are you doing this," she said in a surprisingly steady voice. "If this is because of your personal issues with me and my family, then fine, but do not take this out on those who are not involved. This girl has no significance to you."

Madara only grinned more widely. "Perhaps," he admitted though even as he agreed that yes, at one point this girl had nothing of interest, he was finding that the more he learned about her, the more he was beginning to think that admission was no longer true. Each time he learned something about her his interest peaked, like just now with her relation to the last Senju. It made this moment all the more sweeter. "But it seems my nephew has a certain-" he picked up a piece of Sakura's hair and played with it- "interest and as leader and uncle how can I deny what my people want?"

"You bastard!"

Naruto's shout caused everyone to look at him just as he started to run forward. Evading Kakashi's attempt to stop him and pull him back, Naruto was in front of Sasuke at a speed that was nearly reminiscent of his own father's famed velocities. His fist smashed into Sasuke's unsuspecting jaw thrice before Itachi grabbed a hold of Naruto, pinning his arms back and pulling him away from his foolish little brother. Naruto cursed and thrashed in Itachi's iron hold but the long haired man kept him incapacitated as he hissed in the whisked seraph's ear.

Sasuke recovered quickly. Rubbing at the side of his face, he straightened himself and glared at Naruto. He spat out a mouth full of blood before whipping the residue that had stained his lips as his sharingan blazed angrily. He made a move as if to retaliate but was stopped at Madara's command.

"That's enough!"

Madara's roar echoed over all of them, causing everyone to pause and look at the Uchiha ruler. He looked to Tsunade, a darkness in his shadowed face as she returned his expression with a murderous look of her own.

"Tsunade, is this how you run peace talks?" Madara questioned. "By attacking my faction?" He pointed a thick finger at her. "Keep your faction in line Tsunade or I will take it as an act of war," he warned coldly.

To her credit, Tsunade did not even bat an eye as she looked Madara in the eye, but her arm hesitantly and slowly moved in gesture to stand down anyways. It was then that Sakura noticed that the entire group of blessed seraphs had their wings out and were crouched in fighting stances. However, at Tsunade's gesture, they relaxed...marginally.

"Good," Madara commented when the tension eased slightly. "Now I think it is best that my faction take our leave, we got what we came for." His hand on Sakura's shoulder tightened. "We can discuss a union between our factions at a later time."

He took a step back, pulling Sakura along with him but paused when both Kakashi and Tsunade moved forward.

"I don't think you want to do that Tsunade, you have a faction to govern and lead...and right now you are outnumbered. You wouldn't want to make the wrong move which could escalate to heights you cannot manage to fly." He blinked and his irises shifted until his sharingan was blooming in his eyes. The strongest and most powerful that had existed since Indra himself. "It will not end well."

Madara was right. While Tsunade had some strong warriors present, like Kakashi and Naruto, many of the council members were elected because of their brains, not brawns. And with Sasuke and Madara in addition to the original agreed upon fallen, they were outnumbered. But even if they were to have more bodies, the balance in power was still far more in the favor of the demons over the angels. But even with these facts, Sakura could see Tsunade debating. She could see her weighing the numbers and calculating the risk of failure. Sakura could see it in the heavens ruler's eyes, she was deciding if Sakura was worth sacrificing for the safety of their home.

Stop putting my life before anyone else's...If it ever comes down to my life and my safety over others, then you are to let me go. I can take care of myself and if I can't then I would rather die trying than have others sacrifice themselves for me.

Sakura's eyes moved to look at Kakashi. Just a few days ago she had yelled those words at him. She had made him swear that if it ever came down to her or others, the others were to be put first. Yet, now that the situation presented itself, she was not sure if she was selfless enough to make such a sacrifice.

She glanced back to Tsunade whose entire body was quivering as her chakra moved about her body with precision, moving into the familiar joints and muscles that would be used in an attack. Then she looked to Naruto, who was still trapped in Itachi's arms. But even still, she could see the fight brewing in his eyes. And then she became aware of the tight grip on her shoulder and realized why Madara was grasping her tightly. He was warning her, giving her a chance to save her family and her home.

Her eyes shot to Kakashi who was still staring at her, his face torn. He was giving her a chance to take back what she forced him to promise. Not just giving her a chance, but pleading with her. However, despite her fear, she gave the smallest of looks, confirming that what she had said, still held true.

She could see disappointment in his shoulders but there was an admiration in his eyes as he gave her a nod and turned to Tsunade, whispering into her ear. It was obvious that Tsunade did not like what she was hearing as she furiously shook her head, tears of hatred and sorrow streaming from her eyes as she continued to stare angrily at Madara.

However, after a few more hushed words, her eyes fell to Sakura. Sakura gave the most reassuring nod she could muster as she stood stiffly next to Madara. Taking in a deep breath, Tsunade took a step forward.

"Let me at least say goodbye."

Madara seemed to ponder for a moment, as if actually considering being cruel enough to deny such a thing but then his hand lifted from Sakura and she felt a small nudge forward.

"But of course," he said. "As I said before, I am not here to cause rifts, but to just restore what is only natural."

Tsunade rushed forward and grabbed Sakura into her arms. Cradling the back of Sakura's pink head, she pulled her into her shoulder and held her tightly. Despite the older woman's strong hold, Sakura could feel the blonde woman's entire body trembling as she leaned her head into her. Sakura's arms gripped the only mother she could ever recall and pressed her face into Tsunade's shoulder, doing her best not to cry.

"I will get you home," she whispered quietly. "Just do your best to hang on. But I promise, you will come back home. No matter what he says, you belong here."

She pulled away quickly just as Kakashi was appearing behind her. At this she stepped aside and for a moment Sakura just stared at him before rushing forward and giving him a tight hug around the middle. She felt his leather, fingerless gloved hand pat the top of her head before he bowed his own head and gave her a soft squeeze back.

"The rules do not apply down there," he said. "Just do what it takes to survive. We will do our best, but you may have to save yourself for awhile. But I wouldn't worry too much, you are strong enough."

He was pulling away from her all too quickly, ruffling her hair and passing her onto Naruto, who had been released by Itachi. Naruto's icy blue eyes were glaring at Sasuke, his chakra becoming wildly out of control as the animosity within him grew with every second. Instantly Sakura grabbed his face and pulled his attention to her.

"Hey, it's going to be alright," she said in a shaky voice. "I promise I am not leaving forever, I promise to come back."

Naruto grabbed her wrists and held tightly to her. "Sakura," he said worriedly. "You don't have to do this, we can fight, all of us. I won't let that bastard take you."

She shook her head, the burning of tears only being stayed by her determination to not let him see just how terrified she was. She had to be strong, she had to be brave, she had to protect her people, her family, her home. And if leaving them was all it took, she would gladly abandon them a thousand times.

"No," she said firmly. "Be good and patient," she said, before getting on her tiptoes and giving his cheek a platonic peck. "I promise I will be okay."

She moved to turn away but Naruto was pulling her into his chest and wrapping her into a bear hug. That was when she lost it as the first sob escaped her. He only squeezed harder when he heard her sniffle.

"Kick the bastard's ass if he tries anything," he commanded and she nodded her head into his chest. "Hell, just kick his ass when you get the chance."

She wasn't ready to let go but she had no choice when she was suddenly pulled away from his arms.

"This is all very touching but we have to go now," Madara said. He tilted Sakura's head gently to look at him. "Don't worry little starling, you will not want for anything and I promise, you will see your friends again...might be even sooner than you think," he finished, tapping the end of her small nose with the tip of his finger.

Grabbing a hold of her shoulder, he guided her away, directing her towards Sasuke. "Sasuke," Madara prompted as he moved Sakura closer to the young Uchiha, as if meaning to pass her off.

Sasuke gave Sakura a single glance before he shoved his hands in his pockets, turned, and walked straight into the portal. Madara shrugged, then handed her over to Itachi without a word. Itachi mutely took her and she walked with him. His large hand pressed against the middle of her back as he gently guided her towards the portal, a deep frown making the stress lines of his face even more pronounced.

Fugaku entered the portal ahead of her, his body being consumed by the rippling dark veil before he disappeared altogether. She could see the faintest of outlines of his body for a moment before he moved deeper into the realm just inches away from her. Taking a step forward after a soft nudge from a gentle and quiet Itachi, she moved closer to the portal's surface. But the moment her toes reached the reflective matter, she paused.

In its simmering surface she could see her reflection. She was ashen and wide eyed and she suddenly felt all courage and confidence dissipate. For a moment, she felt that she could not go through with it. But then she looked into her own green eyes as if looking into another's soul and something within her seemed to reach out, something dormant until just recently, lent her some sort of strength. With that small bout of assurance, she stepped forward entering into the tingling portal as she stepped out into the underworld.

The first thing she noticed was the dark coldness and it had hardly anything to do with the temperature.

---

Aaaaaaand Sasuke is officially at his lowest. Yes we all hate him at this point and know he is an ass hole but he kind of is in the anime too so...yeah. But good news! he will realize he fucked up and with them in the same realm it gives them some opportunity to interact a little more. Next chapter will be short and the official last chapter of Part I. Just a quick wrap up before we delve into the next part and do some exploring of the underworld realm and some reconciliation and building of sasusaku which I am excited for. As always a big thanks to those who commented and left feedback, I love to read your reactions and thoughts.

Take care of yourselves, be kind to others, and keep being excellent!