Sasuke sat against the wall of the Inn where he and his team had stopped to stay the night, his gaze fixed on the moon shining through the open window. He hadn't been able to fall asleep and he was fairly certain it was partially because Sakura wasn't beside him. Her warmth, her scent, her breathing, it all had worked better than any sedative for putting him to sleep.
Also, when he was alone like this, he had a tendency to brood. Think about the lives he'd taken, the lives he'd taken for granted, the connections he'd failed to make. There were redeemable people in the underworld weren't there? If he'd made more of an effort during his rouge ninja days to make connections, perhaps he'd be a better ninja now. He shook his head. No. Making lasting connections was Naruto's gift. He on the other hand was quite adept at severing such things. Besides, he was only focused on his goals back then, 'Kill Itachi', that became, 'Destroy the Leaf'. Nothing else mattered to him. He'd made Karin, and Suigetsu deal with any people they'd encountered along the way after he killed Orochimaru. He was too high profile to let even the rodents that scuttled around the underworld get too close. Besides, there was little honor among thieves regardless of how much they tried to pretend otherwise. He wasn't about to expose himself to people who thought of themselves and their purse strings first and loyalty second.
Itachi had managed to create some lasting bonds during his rouge ninja days. The woman Aria, as well as a group of children he'd met a while ago who told him that 'Itachi was a good person' were proof of that. But, he wasn't like his brother. He had never been and likely never would become that selfless.
Perhaps he could work in changing that now. After all, the more trustworthy connections he had, the bigger his network would become so that he could protect The Leaf as well as the people living there. His wife's face filled his mind and he nearly sighed. Was she in bed sleeping now, or still awake working or reading one of her medical books? Maybe she was looking at the moon, the same way he was right now.
"Missing your wife?" Kou asked moving to sit by him.
Sasuke glanced at the Hyuga. The man had been calm, collected, and polite during their journey so far. It seemed to be a family trait since Hinata and Neji had been very much the same way. Either that, or the Hyuga's simply had very strict training. He nodded and returned to gazing at the orb in the sky.
"She's a good woman. Lady Hinata, and Lady Hanabi speak highly of her." The ninja said before turning to gaze at the moon himself. "You should try to get some sleep. Even a little would be helpful I think."
The Uchiha studied the man for a moment and then sighed moving back to his futon. He laid down making sure his sword was in easy reach and closed his eyes. He focused on his memories of Sakura. The feel of her hair, the color of her eyes, the warmth of her smile. He felt himself drifting off as his fantasy meshed with a forming dream. He slept soundly after that. His mind occupied by a lovely dream of Sakura splayed out beneath him in soft grass under the shade of a large tree. Cherry blossoms rained down around them as she sighed arching into his touch as he stroked her breast while his mouth peppered her abdomen with bites and kisses.
"Sasuke." She sighed raking her fingernails lightly up the length of his back. "I love you."
Her words pleased him and he showed her, rolling an erect nipple between his fingers making her gasp with pleasure.
"Sasuke!" she groaned again. "Wake up."
His brow furrowed at that and he lifted his head to stare at her.
"Wake up." Came the voice again only it wasn't hers and he was thrown quickly from his dream and into reality his eyes opening to focus on the wooden celling above him.
"Are you going to sleep all morning?" Kai Yamanacha snapped.
"It's just before dawn." Kou said folding his futon. "There's no reason to be so impatient."
"He's supposed to be our team leader." The blonde protested. "What good is he if he can't even wake up on time?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and slipped out of bed and padded over to his bag. Pulling out the bag of toiletries there as well as a change of clothes, he retreated to the bathroom and then jumped into the shower.
"This is why I hate traveling with other people." He grumbled to himself.
On Team Seven, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi had learned his habits and mannerisms quite quickly. Sakura and Kakashi were the early risers and usually woke Naruto and himself with little complaints. On Team Taka, it had been Jugo that had nudged him awake more often than not, Karin couldn't be trusted to do the task since she'd try to slip into bed with him, and Suigetsu was afraid after nearly being evaporated when he'd woken him up with a splash of water to the face and gotten a face full of fire for his trouble. In both cases, he was surrounded by people who cared about him and respected him. That was not the case here. He'd have to earn the respect of these men. Or he could just scare them into submission.
With a sigh, he turned the water off and stepped out of the steaming shower. He brushed his teeth and hair his brow furrowing at one spike that wasn't doing what he wanted it to. Sakura seemed to have a magic touch that made his hair lay however she wanted. He wasn't so lucky. He pulled on his grey shirt, black vest and pants. He studied his reflection for a moment. There was no reason for him to apologize for sleeping later. It wasn't as though they were running late because of it. The Yamanacha prick just needed to get over the fact that he was the team leader for this mission.
He left the room and quickly packed his bag ignoring the dirty looks the mind transfer ninja kept shooting at him. When he was finished, he neatly folded his futon, picked up a rice ball from the plate on the table and wrapped it in paper slipping it into his bag. He picked up second one and took it to the terrace perching on the slim railing as he looked at the brightening sky. It hadn't even been twenty four hours yet and he already wanted to return home. He finished his rice ball quickly offering a few bites to a cat that leapt down from the roof to join him and then stepped back into the room.
"Let's go." He said firmly.
"Now?" Kai asked cocking a brow. "We still have half an hour before we really need to get going." He said glancing at his schedule.
"Everyone is up and fed. There's no reason to waste any more time." Sasuke replied opening the door as the mind transfer ninja scrambled to throw his bag together.
Kou chuckled softly behind his hand. "Perhaps this is the reason he was still sleeping. He doesn't waste a moment that he's awake."
The blonde shot a dark look at the Hyuga before following them both out of the room and down to the main floor of the Inn. They said their goodbye's and then took to the trees moving quickly but not at top speed through the trees.
"Do you have any ideas about what this apparition might be?" Kou asked Sasuke as they moved through the trees.
"It's hard to say." Sasuke replied. "It could be something similar to the tailed beasts. An accumulation of chakra that has taken on a life of its own or was given a form by someone else. Or it could also be a demon similar to the one from The Land of Ogres. It's hard to come up with any decent theories with so little information to go on." He said leaping to another tree.
His brow furrowed as something occurred to him. The direction that they were traveling was in the same direction that he'd sensed that strange spike of chakra that had woken him from his nightmare. Could this apparition be what he'd sensed?
"Is that what the tailed beasts are? Just accumulations of chakra with personalities stuck to them?" Kai asked.
"That's the simplest explanation of what they are." Sasuke replied.
"So where did they all go after the war?" Kai asked.
Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not sure. All I know is that Gyuki and Kurama chose to stay with Killer Bee and Naruto. The other tailed beasts are free to come and go within Naruto as they please but will likely never again return to this world."
"That seems like such a waste. All that power…" Kai murmured.
Sasuke shook his head. That much power had nearly brought their world to ruin, yet he still wanted it. Then again, he had once been obsessed with power himself so he could understand where the mind transfer ninja was coming from.
"Speaking of power, what can that creepy looking eye of yours do?" The blonde asked.
The Uchiha glanced back at him. "Which one?" he asked his black eye shifting to red, then to the star shape of his mangyko sharringan.
Kai blanched and shivered a little as he looked away. Sasuke shifted his eye back to black and waited to see if the mind transfer ninja would regain his nerve.
"The purple one." Kai said after a few moments.
"My rinnigan." Sasuke clarified. The man nodded and Sasuke sighed. "I haven't had it for very long so I haven't had the time to explore all of its abilities." He said. "That being said, it gives me the power to open pathways connecting different dimensions. A stronger version of the kamui that Kakashi and Obito wielded." He explained. "I can also use it to switch places with any similar sized object though there's a limit to the distance I can travel using that method. It also greatly improves my sensory ability allowing me to see and sense chakra from longer distances. I'm also able to detect who's performing a jutsu over long distances." He explained.
"What incredible abilities." Kou murmured.
"How come you have tomoes in yours?" Kai asked. "Pain's and Madara's didn't look like that."
"I'm not sure." Sasuke replied. "The only explanation that I've been able to come up with is that my rinnigan is higher ranked than theirs since it developed when The Sage of Sixth Paths personally gave me a portion of his power."
"What?! You mean that's not just a legend?" Kai exclaimed.
"No it's not." Sasuke replied.
"You met him?" Kou asked.
"Yes." Sasuke replied.
"What's he like?" Kou asked.
Sasuke thought for a moment. "He's a lot like Naruto and a little like me."
%#%
They arrived in Kozen village around noon the next day approached the village headman's house.
"Who goes there?" a voice called out.
"We're shinobi from The Hidden Leaf." Kai replied.
"You shouldn't answer so carelessly." Sasuke warned in a low voice his rinnigan scanning the area for that chakra he'd sensed before. "Remember, this demon had the ability to possess people and appears to hold a grudge against The Leaf."
Kai shifted uncomfortably as a young man with dark hair and light grey eyes came out to the gate. "Excellent." He said noting the headbands Kou and Kai wore on their foreheads. "Please come in." he said leading them inside.
"Welcome to Kozen village." The older headman said as they gathered in the meeting room. "As you were told, we are charged with protecting a shrine that houses a malevolent spirit. When I was young, you could sense an angry sometimes sorrowful presence around it. That was more than enough to convince me that creature is alive in there. Over the years however, that presence has diminished and several of the younger generation have forgotten what a serious charge it is. A few days ago, the guard watching over the shrine dozed off. He was awoken by the sound of paper tearing and then a blood curling scream. A young man had torn off the main talisman keeping the demon bound and was unconscious on the ground. He has not regained consciousness since then."
Sasuke nodded. "May I see him? If he's trapped in some sort of genjutsu, I should be able to free him with little trouble."
The old man nodded. "Yes. As soon as we finish here."
"Headman, do you know anything else about this spirit? Things The Leaf may not be privy to?" Kou asked.
Sasuke was beginning to like the Hyuga clan member more and more. He was smart, tactful, and knew what questions to ask.
"There is a legend surrounding it." The Headman replied. "One that only the headman and his family know of. It is said that many years ago, a demon was traveling through this area and stopped near the temple to rest. When it woke, it saw a beautiful man walking through the nearby woods and fell madly in love. However, the man was human and when he saw the demon, he was repulsed by its otherworldly appearance and attempted to destroy it with his holy powers. The demon retreated and undeterred, took on the form of a beautiful woman. When the demon saw the monk again he was much kinder offering it shelter for the night. The demon fell further in love with the man, staying with him for several days within the temple. One day, another woman, a kunoichi from The Hidden Leaf Village appeared at the temple. She'd been badly injured in an unrelated battle and was trying to return to her village when she ran out of strength. The monk took in the shinobi and tended to her wounds over the next several weeks neglecting the demon who still lived inside the temple walls. When the kunoichi awoke, he invited her to stay longer until she fully regained her strength. She agreed." The old man sighed and rubbed his shoulders. "The monk soon fell in love with the kunoichi and offered to return to her village and marry her. The demon overheard this and became enraged shedding its beautiful form and revealing it's true identity. Scorned by the man she'd thought was her lover, the demoness amassed an army of women and attempted to attack The Leaf Village, blaming the village and the kunoichi for the loss of her happiness. The kunoichi and monk confronted the creature together and eventually sealed it away. They moved to Konoha soon after leaving the village to look after the demon they'd sealed away."
"That's an interesting legend." Kai remarked. "It sounds pretty far-fetched to me."
"Enough." Sasuke snapped glancing at the Yamanacha. "Take me to see the unconscious man. Then we'll go visit the shrine."
The man nodded. "Very well. My son Yuichi will guide you." He said motioning to the grey eyed man from before.
"Thank you." Sasuke said following the headman's son.
They arrived in a separate room where a teenaged boy with light brown hair lay on a futon.
"I can do this part." Kai said moving to the boy's side. "I can enter his mind using my mind transfer."
The Uchiha's brow furrowed at that. "You weren't able to escape my genjutsu. What happens if you get sucked into a genjutsu trap laid within his mind?"
Kai's eyes widened and then he looked away. "I'll be fine. This is a Yamanacha clan specialty." He said laying his hand on the man's forehead.
Knowing that arguing wouldn't get anywhere, he turned to Kou. "Watch his chakra carefully. If it wavers at all. Let me know right away."
"Right." The man replied activating his Byakugan.
Kai's brow furrowed, sweat beading on his brow before he suddenly slumped forward.
"Sasuke!" Kou exclaimed. "His chakra!"
"Idiot!" Sasuke hissed flipping the man to his back and prying his eye open. "Mangyko Sharringan!"
He fell into Kai's psychic plane and found the mind transfer ninja locked in battle with a strange creature that was pale with long dark hair, and no face except for a mouth lined with sharp teeth. Its torso looked human like with almost translucent, white skin, but the limbs were reptilian with three grotesquely long appendages tipped with vicious claws on each hand and foot. The creature reached out and grabbed the man lifting him towards its sharp toothed mouth.
With a leap, he advanced on the beast drawing his sword from its sheath. He sliced of the monster's arm with his blade, funneling just a little of his lightning chakra into it in order to insure the cut was clean and went all the way through. He yanked Kai from the monster's hand and planted both feet in the monster's featureless face and leapt backwards flipping with Kai slung over his shoulder and landed on the ground hard sliding back several feet with legs bent and slightly apart, his back arched forward to give him better balance as he came to a stop. He laid his injured comrade on the ground and faced the howling beast as it charged at him with a killing intent that would have brought his younger self to his knees. There was no time or reason to let the apparition run loose like this and cause damage to Kai's mind that might never be undone.
He focused his chakra and gathered a handful of black flames in his palm. He aimed them at the monster and thrust his hand forward. "Flame control!"
The creature shrieked and then vanished in a blast of steam. Kai's psychic plane returned to a field of white with stars winking overhead and Sasuke knelt beside his fallen teammate.
"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked cradling the man's head in his hand.
"Is that… The demon?" Kai rasped.
"It must be. Are you alright?" he repeated.
"Yes. I'm fine. Sorry." Kai replied sheepishly.
"Release!" Sasuke exclaimed bringing them both back to reality.
"Are you both alright?" Kou asked his pale eyes wide.
"We're fine." Sasuke assured him. "Let me check on the other man now."
"Be careful." Kai warned him.
Sasuke peeled open the other man's eye and sank into his psychic plane. It was dark and he watched the young man sit with his friends, sake flowing freely around a campfire.
"Shh! You're going to get us caught!" a young woman hissed. "We're not supposed to be drinking this."
"Light up Ai." Another boy said. "Alcohol is medicine you know."
"Whatever." The girl snarled. "Anyone up for truth or dare?" she asked
"Of course!" another boy answered.
Sasuke groaned internally and sighed as the childish game ensued. The questions and dares becoming more serious as the time went on.
"I dare you to take the sealing tag off of The Water Woman's shrine." Ai said suddenly.
The boy whose mind he had invaded stiffened. "Why would I do that?" he asked.
"Are you too afraid?" she taunted.
"It's kind of a big deal." Another member of the group protested.
"I'll do it!" the boy exclaimed the alcohol bolstering his confidence. "Just wait!"
He left the group and stumbled through the trees towards the shrine. The guard was already sleeping so he slipped up to the door and took a deep breath as he studied the paper tag placed over the doors. He'd come too far, he couldn't back down now. Not when Ai had dared him.
He reached out and gripped the faded red tag and pulled ripping the seal off. A shrill shrieking laugh filled the air as the doors flew open and a creature with long dark hair, no face, and a sharp toothed grin streaked towards him. His mouth fell open and a high pitched scream left his throat as she entered his mind. He collapsed near the shrine and his friends came running kneeling beside him next to the now alert guard.
"What happened?" The guard demanded.
"It… It was just a game." One of the boys whimpered.
Ai reached out to touch the boy and the apparition hissed. "Yes! A female vessel." She whispered slithering up the girl's arm and slipping into her mouth.
Sasuke's brow furrowed as he moved deeper within the boy's psychic plane. He was shivering in a corner, his hands pressed to his ears, his eyes wide.
"The Water Woman. She's real." He whimpered. "She's going to destroy us all. I'm the one that let her out."
"That's enough." Sasuke said approaching the boy.
Though it was true the demon's presence had initially put him in a comatose state, that piece of the serpent had jumped to Kai when he originally tried to enter the boy's mind. It was his own fear and shame that kept him trapped now.
"It's time to face the consequences of your actions and step out of the dark." Sasuke said extending his hand.
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"I'm Sasuke." He replied. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ren." He replied before bowing his head. "This is all my fault."
"Face your mistakes and move forward." Sasuke said. "Your friend Ai is in great danger now. You need to walk back to reality to save her."
"It's scary! What if they hate me!?" he exclaimed.
"You cannot control anyone's actions but your own." Sasuke said. "However, perhaps they will forgive you in time. Many people are worried about you."
"How would you know?" Ren asked.
"I was summoned here by your headman when the shrine was opened." He looked down at the boy's fear filled eyes and nearly sighed, he'd have to use even more persuasive means to get the boy to come back to reality. "I've also made terrible mistakes that I can never truly atone for. It was difficult, but I've done my best to move forward in spite of them. You can do the same." He said holding his hand out more insistently. "Now stand up and face reality!"
Ren blinked and then hesitantly took the ninja's hand.
"Release!"
"Sasuke? Are you alright?" Kou asked touching his shoulder.
"I'm fine." He replied taking a deep breath. "There was definitely something in that shrine. We need to check it out. We also need to find a girl named Ai."
"Ai?" the Yuichi repeated. "She was found about ten miles from the village unconscious in the middle of the road. When she woke up, she told us she had no memory after finding Ren near the shrine."
Sasuke's jaw clenched. "Did that demon already find another host?" he muttered under his breath. "Take us to the shrine right away." He ordered the man.
"Right!" Yuichi said motioning for a woman standing near the door. "Take care of Ren." He told her before leading the ninja out of the building and along a narrow winding path.
"Why did you cut me off when we were with the headman?" Kai asked.
"Because you were acting the way Naruto did when he was twelve." Sasuke muttered under his breath. Kou smirked having heard the quiet comment but Kai looked at him with an expectant look in his eye. "Do you know why Obito went along with Madara's plan to start The Fourth Great Ninja War?" he asked the mind transfer ninja.
"Because he was an Uchiha and they're all a bit crazy?" Kai replied.
Sasuke's brow twitched at that. "No. It's because when he was a genin he arrived on a battle field to help his comrades just in time to watch his best friend kill the girl he loved." Kai and Kou's eyes both widened. "He honestly felt that the world was wrong and wanted to destroy it in order to create a new one, a perfect, peaceful world where she was still alive. Nothing else mattered to him." He glanced at the two ninja behind him. "The notion that there was a demon who decided to destroy The Leaf because the man she loved fell in love with a Kunoichi and left her behind doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me."
"I see." Kai said as they entered a clearing.
Sasuke walked up to the shrine that was being guarded by a pair of much more alert looking guards and touched the seal. "That's a Hidden Leaf Seal formula." He muttered reading the remaining characters on the edge of the ripped paper.
He circled the building and then put his hand on the door activating his rinnigan. "There's traces of chakra." He murmured. "It feels different from both human and tailed beast chakra. I'm not sure what to make of it but it'll certainly be easier to track this way." He studied the door. "I'm going inside."
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Kai asked as Yuichi and the guards shifted nervously behind them.
The Uchiha nodded. "I can't sense anyone inside. Any chakra leftover is just residual traces left from being held here for so long."
"Let me check as well." Kou said activating his own visual prowess. "You're right. There's no one inside."
Sasuke nodded and walked inside the shrine. His eyes widened as he looked around the space. Words of hate were scrawled across the walls, scraped into the wood.
"Kill the kunoichi!" "He was mine!" "Destroy the Leaf!" he saw a piece of paper and brushed the dust off of it. "I'll make him pay. I'll take her body and then kill him with it. They will both know despair! Then I'll do the same to the Leaf. Take the women and kill the men. Yes! What fun! What fun! The kunoichi's will fall! Fall and serve me then we'll make all of them, all the filthy men in this world pay!"
His brows knit together. This was her plan? To somehow turn the kunoichi's against their own village? Lady Tsubaki must have known. That was why she'd left explicit instructions to keep Leaf Village Kunoichi away from this place. His eyes widened and he dashed out of the building.
"Ai!" exclaimed stopping in front of Yuichi. "Where did you find her?" he demanded.
"On the road ten miles from the village." He repeated.
"Where in the road? What direction was she headed in?" Sasuke asked.
"What direction?" Yuichi repeated. Sasuke nodded and he turned towards the guards. "You were there, what direction?" he asked.
The guard touched his chin, his eyes rolling up in his head as he concentrated before he turned and pointed. "She was headed in that direction."
Sasuke's heart dropped. "Are you sure?" he asked stepping up to the guard. "Are you absolutely positive?"
"Yes. I was the first one to see her. She was lying face down in the road her arm pointing down it." He explained.
"Damn!" Sasuke hissed pulling a scroll and ink pen from his bag.
"What's wrong?" Kou asked.
"Yeah. You look sort of stressed." Kai agreed watching as Sasuke's hand flew over the paper.
"The demon trapped in that shrine had enough of a form to write out her plan even while confined there." He said his hand sliding over the paper. "She plans to destroy the village by taking control of the Kunoichi and using them to do her bidding, to carry out her grudge not just against The Leaf but all of the men in this world." He finished his message and slipped it into the pack on his hawk. "Take it to The Leaf. Hurry!" he ordered the bird. "We need to find this Ai girl, remove all traces of the demon from her and then return to The Leaf as soon as possible." He said.
"But we're supposed to help this village." Kai protested.
Sasuke's temper snapped and he whirled on the man, his eyes blazing. "Use your head!" he snarled. "A mere fragment of this demon's power was able to take control of your mind in a matter of seconds and your clan is naturally adept at Genjutsu! What would happen if this thing managed to take control of Ino, Hinata, or Sakura?"
Kai and Kou both paled.
"Where is Ai?" Sasuke asked striding towards Yuichi.
"At her parent's house." He replied. "I'll take you there now."
Sasuke nodded and jerked his head, motioning the two ninja with him forward and strode after the headman's son.
Despite the busy afternoon hour, the people parted like water in the wake of the Uchiha. He all but prowled the streets, a dark, dangerous, predator exuding an almost malevolent arua. A shinobi was hunting and even the most dimwitted civilians knew better than to cross their path needlessly at a moment like this.
"It's here." Yuichi said motioning to a house next to the temple that had once been the place where the monk Hisame had dwelled and lived with both a demon and kunoichi at one time.
"Take us to her. We don't have time for pleasantries." Sasuke said firmly.
"Yes sir. Please give me a moment." The grey eyed man said striding up to the door and knocking gently.
An average looking middle aged man with light brown hair stepped out. "Can I help you Yuichi?" he said softly.
"Yes. Shinibo from The Hidden Leaf have arrived. They'd like to examine your daughter." The headman's son explained.
"Oh. Yes. Please come in." the man said stepping away from the door and ushering them inside.
Yuichi motioned them forward and Sasuke stalked inside the house with Kai and Kou close behind. The father stepped back instinctively as the ink haired Uchiha entered his home clearly unnerved by the dangerous look in his mismatched eyes.
"Where is she?" Sasuke asked firmly.
"T- This way." The man stuttered before almost scrambling down the hall to the open living room that had been turned into a makeshift bedroom.
A mousy looking woman with light blonde hair knelt beside a pretty girl with chestnut colored hair laying on a futon.
"Please pardon us." Kou said bowing to the nervous couple as Sasuke swept forward and knelt beside the unconscious girl. "The situation is quite urgent. My companion should be able to break the spell that is keeping your daughter from waking up."
"Really?" the blonde exclaimed.
"Yes. He's already done the same for Ren." Yuichi said.
"Exactly but he's in a hurry and a bit of a foul mood at the moment so I suggest you step back and let him work." Kai advised as Sasuke forced one of the girl's eyes open.
"Mangyko Sharringan." Sasuke murmured pushing his way inside her mind.
"I never wanted this." The young woman wailed curled up into a ball. "I just wanted to free of this duty of protecting the stupid shrine. I never meant for Ren to get hurt."
Sasuke watched as the demon now in the form of a beautiful woman with red lips, eerie yellow eyes, and long dark hair approached the girl and wrapped her long slender arms around the girl.
"There there." She purred. "I know you never intended to hurt him. Does it hurt to think about that boy?"
"Yes. It hurts. It hurts so much." The girl sobbed. "Ren! I'm so sorry Ren!"
"I can make it go away." The demon said stroking over the girl's hair. "I'll make sure you never have to think of him again."
Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized the demon's intention. She was going to wipe the boy's presence from her memory giving her more control over the vessel she'd taken. He armed himself with shuriken and took aim throwing the pair with pinpoint accuracy. The demon screamed and let go of the girl whirling towards him.
"You!" She screamed. "How are you in here!?"
"Get out." Sasuke said firmly. "You do not belong here. This is not your realm." His power whipped around him in violet rings and the woman cringed taking several steps back. "Get out!" he snarled.
"Curse you!" The woman screeched but without much chakra to draw from the girl, she had no strength and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Who are you?" Asked Ai. "Why, how are you here?"
"Your friend Ren is fine. He's waiting for you." Sasuke said holding his hand out to her. "Come. It's time to come back to reality."
Ai's eyes welled with fresh tears. "I can't. This is all my fault."
"Take responsibility for it and move on. Your friend has, you can as well. Hurry, there isn't much time." Sasuke said reaching out to grab her wrist. "Step into the light!"
The girl hesitated for a moment longer before reaching out to take his hand.
"Release!" he exclaimed landing back inside his own head. "Alright. She's free."
"Ah! Ai!" her mother exclaimed as the girl opened her eyes. "Thank you so much! How can we ever repay you?"
"There's no need." Sasuke said getting to his feet. "She was a victim as well." He turned to his two companions and Yuichi. "We've used up too much time already. We need to quickly return to the village."
"Right." Kai and Kou said in unison standing.
"Yes. I'll guide you outside." The headman's son said walking forward. "Thank you so much for all of your help." Leading them through the house.
They arrived outside and Sasuke eyed each of his companions "We're leaving!" he said firmly. "We'll return as soon as we've captured the demon."
"Right. Please send us word when you've found something." Yuichi said.
Sasuke nodded and leapt into the trees with Kai and Kou hot on his heels.
"Lady Hinata, Lady Hanabi, please be alright." Kou murmured under his breath.
"You better be safe Ino." Kai muttered his hands clenched into fists.
"Sakura." Sasuke whispered his jaw clenching as her smiling face flashing before his mind.
%&%
Sakura sighed and glanced at the clock. It was seven thirty. She technically could have left more than an hour ago, but going home to an empty house… It was just depressing.
"That was an epic sigh." Ino said with a smirk as she walked into her office. "You know your shift is over right?"
"I have work to do." Sakura replied scanning over a report.
The blonde smirked and sat down in front of Sakura's desk.
"You miss Sasuke, don't you?" she teased.
"Of course I do!" Sakura hissed before slumping forward. "I'm pathetic, it hasn't even been seventy two hours and I'm a wreck."
Ino sighed and walked around to rub her friend's back. "I'm sorry. Sasuke will be back before you know it. It's not like anyone can actually hurt him. Don't worry so much."
"I know." Sakura said turning her head to look at her friend. "I know that in my head but my heart…" she touched her chest. "I can't stop worrying. There's a part of me that's afraid he's just going to disappear again." She confessed a tear running down her cheek.
"Oh Sakura." Ino murmured hugging her gently. "Sasuke will come back to you. I'm sure of it. If he gets lost, we'll just send Naruto out to get him."
"Thanks Ino." Sakura said squeezing her friend's arm gently. "I guess I'll go home after all. He'll be pretty upset if he comes back and finds out that I've been running myself ragged."
"That's the spirit!" The mind transfer ninja said with a smile. "I know! How about you come to my house for dinner tomorrow? I'll invite the rest of the girls too. It'll be a blast."
Sakura smiled as she stood up and gathered her purse. "I'd like that." She confessed.
"Great! Does seven sound good, or is that too late?" Ino asked.
"Seven is good." Sakura replied reaching for the door.
Both shinobi jumped when the door was yanked open. "Director! There's an emergency!" a young medic exclaimed.
"What is it?" Sakura asked.
"A woman was found unconscious just outside the village gates. Nothing we've done had been able to wake her up and her vitals are dropping." The young man explained.
"Looks like I'll be staying a bit later after all." Sakura replied quickly grabbing her lab coat and rushing towards the surgery wing. "You're on standby Ino." She called out waving to the mind transfer ninja.
She strode into the surgery wing and looked down at the prone form of a middle aged woman with grey streaks in her reddish brown hair. She was dressed in the clothes of a typical house wife with an ankle length pink dress, a white apron, and her hair partially covered by a yellow and blue checkered scarf. Her feet were covered in soft brown boots that looked quite worn down.
Sakura frowned. "You found her outside the village gates?" she asked.
"Yes Haruno Sensei. I mean Uchiha Sensei." Another medic replied.
"It's fine. You'll get used to it." She assured him as she looked at the monitors and then the woman's chart. "No identification?"
The medic in charge nodded
"She's not from the village." She muttered touching her chin "But she doesn't look like she planned on coming here either." She muttered.
"What makes you say that?" another medic asked. "She could be a potential client."
Sakura shook her head. "Look at the way she's dressed. These aren't nice clothes or travel clothes. These are the kind of clothes someone does chores in. She's still wearing her apron and a hair scarf. None would come to a ninja village dressed like this for a job request." She muttered her hands glowing green as she worked to assess the woman's condition. "She's completely exhausted but that's all. There's no reason she shouldn't be waking up. She doesn't have a drop of chakra in her either." She moved her hand to the woman's head. "Genjutsu maybe?" She eased her chakra into the woman's brain looking for any signs of distress.
Her brow furrowed as she felt something slide against her chakra. A slimy sensation that reminded her a bit of the sensation she felt when she'd been poisoned by a shinobi while on a mission to protect a priestess from The Land of Ogres.
"Ouch!" she hissed when she felt a sharp pain near the nape of her neck.
"What is it Uchiha Sensei?" one of her medics asked.
"It's nothing." She replied touching the spot. "Do what you need to in order to keep her alive. I need to do some research. Something isn't quite right here."
"Yes Uchiha Sensei." Her medical team replied in unison.
Sakura nodded and left the room. She touched her forehead and grimaced at the sudden headache that throbbed there.
"Sakura? What's wrong?" Ino asked as she met her in the hallway with Hinata by her side.
"Just a little headache. Nothing major." She replied waving it off.
"Did you find out what was up with that woman they found?" Ino asked. "I brought Hinata thinking that she might be able to see something."
Sakura shook her head. "She doesn't have any chakra. Not a drop." She replied walking with the other kunoichi through the halls towards the doors of the hospital. "She's not from the village either."
"Are you sure?" Hinata asked.
The pink haired medic nodded. "Her clothing isn't right. Even the housewives and elderly wear sandals here. It's just the way we do things. She was wearing boots."
"Could she have been a potential client?" Ino offered waving to Temari as she approached.
"I don't think so." Sakura said shaking her head. "It's so strange. It's like one minute she was hanging up her laundry and the next she was collapsed in front of our gate. She was wearing a plain dress, an apron and a scarf in her hair. Would any of your mother's go to meet with a bunch of shinobi dressed like that?"
"My mom would rather die." Ino said confidently.
"I seriously doubt she would have." Temari confirmed as Hinata nodded in agreement.
"That's what I thought." Sakura said. "It's just weird. She's exhausted but has no other injuries yet her heartrate and breathing rate keeps dropping for no reason. I checked for genjutsu but-" She winced touching her forehead again as her head throbbed.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ino asked reaching out to touch her.
"You don't look so good." Temari confirmed.
"Just a headache." Sakura replied. "I think I've been working too much the past couple of days."
"I told you s- Ouch!" Ino hissed touching the back of her neck.
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked touching the mind transfer ninja.
"Damn mosquitos." The blonde hissed.
Hinata smiled and then winced pressing a hand to her shoulder. "Ouch!" she hissed.
"They're extra vicious tonight." Temari said reaching out to touch Hinata's hand. "We never had much a problem with the blood sucking menaces in Suna, not enough wa- Ow!" she yelped. "Is the mosquito from hell hanging out over here?" she grumbled rubbing her forearm.
"It must be." Ino confirmed touching her forehead. "I think we should head home before it eats us alive."
"Yeah. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Sakura said waving before walking towards her apartment.
As soon as her friends were out of sight, she started jogging the pain in her head spiking as she stumbled into a nearby fence.
"Something is wrong." She muttered under her breath as she pushed away from the fence and forced herself to keep walking forward her focus on her apartment less than a block away. "An illness transferred by insect bite?" she stumbled a few more feet. "It's possible. I need to call Shino." She looked up at her apartment terrace and took a deep breath. "Can I make it?" she glanced at the stairs and shuddered. "I have to make it." She leapt for it and barely cleared the railing. She wobbled using the iron bars for support and to catch her breath before throwing the door open and stumbling inside. "Damn it." She hissed as she fell forward, her vision wavering as the pain in her head seared like a knife drawing a shriek of pain from her lips. With shaking fingers she formed seals and bit her thumb. "Summoning jutsu." She muttered.
A tiny slug appeared at her side. "Sakura dear?" Katsuyu said sliding towards her. "What's wrong?"
"My head." Sakura moaned. "It feels like it's going to explode. I can't even move." Her eyes widened as a creature with the torso of a woman, lizard like arms, and no face sauntered towards her.
"What a lovely Leaf Village Kuniochi." The woman purred reaching out to tip her head up her yellow eyes meeting Sakura's green orbs. "Such power." The creature drawled. "Yes, such wonderful, potent power." She slid her cheek over Sakura's making the pink haired woman shudder. "It will be mine. You will be mine."
"No." Sakura rasped. "Don't!" the creature opened its mouth and sank it's fangs into the nape of her neck where she'd felt the prick of pain from before. Sakura's jaw dropped, a blood curling scream falling from her lips as dark, tainted power slithered through her veins invading her mind, taking her soul captive. The face of her husband appeared in her mind and she reached for it, fighting with everything she had to keep it in her sight. "Sasuke!"
"Shh…." The yellow eyed woman soothed her taking on the form of a beautiful woman with dark hair and yellow eyes. "I'll take care of you Sakura." She said taking her limp body into her arms caressing her cheek with a slender hand tipped with long crimson nails. "That vile man will never harm you again."
#%#
Sasuke's jaw clenched as he moved as quickly as he dared through the trees towards the village. There was no way of knowing if his hunch was correct but if it was, time was of the essence. They had to get to the village before the demon did. There was so much residual power left in that shrine that he was certain this being was far more powerful than anyone was giving it credit for.
His eyes widened and he froze as he sensed that same chakra, tainted and slippery like oil spiking in the direction of the village. The faceless woman was making her move and they were still too far away to make a difference.
"Damn it!" he growled. "Faster!" he called out to his companions. "I just felt the demon's power spike. She's making her move!"
"Right!" Kai and Kou barked in unison increasing their speed with him.
He pushed faster, his jaw clenching when he heard a voice brush across his mind. "Sasuke!" Sakura's voice cried out.
"Sakura!" he exclaimed his soul shuddering.
She had to be in terrible danger. It was the only explanation. Her soul had been in such peril that she'd managed to call to his own.
He pushed faster through the trees memories of his race back to the village when he'd found out she'd been kidnaped by the ANBU replaying in his mind. He'd never been so frantic to reach her side before. The knowledge that she would likely be tortured or worse by the hands of trained killers pushing him faster. He was positive back then that he'd never feel that way again.
He was wrong. He'd been dead wrong. The panic he was feeling now, the desperation and fear put the feelings he'd had then to shame.
:8:
He dropped down near the village gate and scanned the immediate area. It was quiet, almost eerily so. Without wasting another moment, he rushed to Sakura's apartment kicking the door open.
"Sakura!" he called out. "Where are you!?"
He didn't bother to take off his shoes as he raced to the dark living room flipping the lights on. The air was stagnant and still and the living area looked relatively untouched. There were no dishes in the sink and her purse was missing. His panic began to grow when he threw open their bedroom door and found the veranda door partially open, the curtain flapping in the breeze.
"Who's there? Is that you Sasuke?" a soft voice called out.
He walked closer to the bed and looked around spotting a patch of white and blue partially underneath a blanket that had been pulled from the bed and knelt down beside it.
"Katsuyu." He murmured picking up the palm sized slug. "Where is Sakura?"
"She just left." The slug replied. "Oh Sasuke, it's terrible! When she summoned me, she was collapsed on the floor, she told me that she could no longer move and was in terrible pain. Before I could even touch her to find out the cause, she started screaming. Then she went completely still. When I tried to help her, something in her body shut me out."
"Shut you out?" Sasuke repeated his brow knitting together. "You couldn't heal her?"
The slug nodded. "Yes! Then she stood up and walked out but there was something different about her. Her chakra, her aura, even the way she carried herself, it was all wrong. Tainted with something dark."
"It's alright." Sasuke said stroking the side of the worried creature with his thumb. "I'll bring her back." He lifted the little creature onto his shoulder. "Can you still sense where she is?"
"She's headed towards the gate. There are three others with her that seem to be tainted with the same darkness." She replied.
Sasuke nodded and didn't bother with the door. He leapt to the bars of the terrace and then to the roof top focusing on the group of four that were approaching the gate a flash of pink giving him Sakura's exact location. He ran the length of the apartment building roof and leapt landing lithely on the roof of the building next to it.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out landing beside him. "Something's wrong with Hinata! She collapsed when she came home, started screaming and then jumped out the window before I could figure out what happened."
"Katsuyu said the same thing happened to Sakura." Sasuke replied.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sai called out landing near them. "Did something happen to Hinata and Sakura?"
"Yeah, where's Ino?" Naruto asked.
"She's down there with them." He replied. "I don't understand. One minute I heard her screaming, the next she walked right past me, like she couldn't even see me."
"Does anyone here know why our girls are acting like mindless drones?!" Shikamaru demanded falling in step with the others.
"I have a hunch." Sasuke replied. "It has to do with the mission I was sent on. If I'm right, they've all been possessed by a vengeful demon who has a grudge against The Leaf and all men."
"A demon? Seriously?" Naruto asked.
"It's a long story." Sasuke replied leaping from the next roof and flipping so that he landed right in front of his wife forcing her to stop.
The green orbs that met his were not the eyes he knew and loved. There wasn't a speck of warmth or light in her eyes. Not even a flicker of recognition. They were like the eyes of the dead, and he knew exactly what the eyes of the dead looked like. Her lips were pressed into a firm line and her arms hung limply at her sides. Lady Katsuyu was right, everything about her was wrong.
"Sakura." he said moving cautiously towards her. Her eyes followed his movements but other than that there was no reaction. "Katsuyu told me you weren't feeling well, let's get you home." He said taking another step towards her, his hand reaching for hers.
"Do not touch me." She said her voice clipped and monotone. "Get out of the way."
"I can't do that Sakura." He replied his eye shifting red as he prepared to slip into her mind. "It's time to come home now."
One of her feet shifted back and her hands balled into fists lifting into a defensive position.
"Sakura." He called out again his heart clenching. "We don't have time for this."
"Move." She said.
"I can't." he replied.
Her eyes widened slightly and he watched in shocked horror as glowing, yellow lines began to crawl across her skin.
"Is that a curse mark!?" Sai exclaimed.
"Do they all have one?" Shikamaru echoed.
"No way. How? When did this happen?" Naruto questioned.
Sasuke glanced at the other woman and noted similar lines crawling across their skin as well. Though it appeared that each one's mark originated in a different place base on the way the lines moved.
"Worry about that later!" he barked at the blonde idiot. "Get ready!"
He turned his gaze back to Sakura and felt his heart pound. "Don't do this Sakura." He pleaded.
He'd never in his life wanted to fight her seriously. Not even insane and drunk on power.
"Die." She said before launching at him with chakra charged fists.
"Damn!" he hissed as his Susanoo formed around him.
His eyes widened as it started to crack under the pressure of Sakura's strength. "Not good!" he muttered.
He'd intended to use his Susanoo as a buffer until he could safely grab her and then use his genjutsu. However, if she could crack his Susanoo so easily, that strategy was far too risky.
"Damn it!" Naruto growled. "It's all I can do to doge her." Ducking out of the way of one of Hinata's palm strikes.
Shikamaru grunted as he was thrown violently into a nearby fruit stand. "Shit. I hate that Wind Scythe jutsu of hers." He muttered as he staggered to his feet.
"Ino! Stop it!" Sai exclaimed blocking her blows. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"What's going on here?" Kakashi asked landing near them. "Even for lovers quarrels this is a bit much."
"They're possessed." Sasuke replied leaping out of the way of one of Sakura's chakra charged fists, his jaw clenching when the earth cracked under the force of her power.
"This sucks!" Naruto growled dodging Hinata's flying palms. "We can't hurt them but they sure as Hell seem to want to hurt us!"
"I'm pretty sure Sakura told Sasuke to die." Shikamaru said with a hint of a smile in his voice as he braced himself for another wind attack.
"Can't you stop them with your shadow possession!?" Naruto demanded.
"There's too many shadows here. I can't separate theirs from the walls." Shikamaru replied.
"Sasuke! Use genjutsu!" Naruto said.
"What do you think I've been trying to do!?" The Uchiha hissed gritting his teeth as Sakura aimed a chakra charged punch at his face.
"We do not have time for this." Sakura said.
The other women jerked their heads once in understanding. In a flash they all leapt together standing back to back. Temari used her fan to create a massive cloud of dust as Hinata used her palm rotation to scatter it blinding the men.
"No! They're getting away!" Sai exclaimed.
"I can't see a thing!" Shikamaru shouted over the howling wind.
"Hinata! Sakura!" Naruto shouted trying to take a step forward through the wall of wind. "No!"
The dust cleared and the women were gone. Their foot prints the only proof that they'd been there only moments before.
"Fucking damn it!" Naruto snarled dropping to his knees and slamming his fist into the ground.
Sasuke could only stare at the spot where his wife had once stood. Anger and frustration writing in his blood. He was going to make the demon pay… How dare she? How dare she take what was his!?
"Explain." Kakashi said walking up to the brooding Uchiha.
"They've been possessed by a demon." He replied his voice flat and cold. "She plans to destroy The Leaf by forcing the kunoichi to do her bidding. Once she destroys the village, she intends to go after the men of this world to get revenge on the man that scorned her."
"What a troublesome situation." Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head. "We'll have to assemble a retrieval team."
"You've already got one." Naruto said looking at The Hokage. "We're going to get our girls back."
Kakashi didn't even bother pretending to argue and nodded. "Alright. Prepare quickly."
"Sasuke, please save Sakura." Katsuyu pleaded.
"I will." He assured the slug.
"I leave her to you then." She replied vanishing with a pop.
&#&
"Hurry back." Kakashi said as he stood with the four men at the gate. "All of you leaving at once like this puts The Leaf in a very precarious situation."
"We understand that, but this isn't something we can really leave to other people." Shikamaru said.
"That's the only reason I'm letting you go." Kakashi said. "Get the girls, bring them back home safely, and then destroy the demon who took them."
"With pleasure, Lord Hokage." They said in Unison before turning towards the road.
"We need to do this as quickly and quietly as possible." Shikamaru said. "Leaving The Leaf this weak is very risky."
"I can sense where they are generally with my rinnigan." Sasuke said as they began to walk. "I can guide us most of the way. Naruto can pinpoint their exact locations with his sage mode."
"Excellent idea." Shikamaru said. "Sai, would you mind drawing us a few birds? Flying is faster than running and we'll conserve more energy that way."
"Right." Sai said sliding his brush over paper until four white birds appeared.
The four shinobi mounted the drawings were soon soaring through the night sky. Sasuke took the lead latching onto Sakura's tainted chakra signature.
"Hang on girls. We're coming for you." Naruto said firmly before settling into a cross legged position to begin accumulating nature energy for his sage mode.
"Sakura. Just hang on." Sasuke thought. "This time I'll save you with my own hand. Wait for me."
Author's Note: Thank you for liking, favoriting, and reviewing! I appreciate every single one. I apologize for the delay in posting this. I was out of town and just barely returned home. Anyway, enjoy!
