Darkness enveloped everything around her. She saw nothing but. She could feel its cold, calloused touch sweep across her soft, pale, skin. She could hear its moan very clear in her ears. She could even smell its stench all too well, making her face scrunch up in disgust.
'Oh come now Sakura, my love, don't be so mean' a voice cut through the screaming silence of the mysterious place.
She spun around, expecting to see a face in the air, but all she saw was black, just like she secretly knew she would.
'...you probably think you're strong' the voice spoke again 'You probably think you're special, important, you warded off the demon, but you're not, you're nothing'
She looked down at where she thought her feet were.
"You probably think the same thing" she hissed back.
'Meaning?'
"Meaning you're not all you crack yourself up to be"
A cold malicious laugh cut through the darkness once again.
'You ignorant little bitch' it hissed 'You truly have no idea who I am, it's almost sad really, how blind you are to the power lying dormant within your strained chest' it laughed again.
Sakura clenched her fists in anger. 'How could I never know such a beast was inside me this whole time?'
'You've had had one major clue for a very long while' it chuckled 'Do you honestly think you being able to control chakra that well was a result of study? You naïve, selfish, child'
"Why did you bring me here?! To taunt me over how powerless I am over myself?!"
'I brought you here to give you fare warning' Sakura looked up into the darkness.
'Sooner or later, whether you like it or not, I will gain control, and when that happens, you die, instantly, there will be no back and forth like the Naruto boy and that damn Kyubi, and if for some reason there is, it is a fluke on my part, and will never happen again'
Sakura unclenched her fists.
"So you plan to kill me?"
'...I hope those images haunt you for the rest of your life, my love, even if that might be shorter than you once thought'
----
Sakura's eyes fluttered open and slowly came into focus. A blindingly white room lay before her. She looked around, a heart monitor lay to her left, along with a window left open for a breeze. To her right was a table with a vase of flowers and twp empty stools. She was alone in the room.
"...this must be the hospital..." she mumbled to herself
She sighed and laid back down on the soft pillows and bed. The door opened. She turned to see a nurse standing in the door frame.
"A—h, Sakura-san! You're awake! Yokata, we were beginning to worry" the woman smiled at her.
She walked over to Sakura and took her pulse.
"Well, your pulse is a little slow, but that's to be expected, so now worries"
"...how long was I asleep?"
"Oh, about a week I'd say, give or take a few days" the woman said taking out a blood pressure cuff.
She strapped it onto Sakura's upper arm.
"W-what are you doing?"
"I'm taking your blood pressure honey, haven't you ever been submitted to the hospital?"
"...no..."
"Well lucky you, I've been assigned to those two hopeless boys on your team too many times to count"
They both laughed and the nurse took off the strap.
"Your blood pressure is a little low, but that too is to be expected, but just in case, I think we'll keep you here 'till tomorrow"
"...have my teammates, um, visited me, at all?"
"Ano...a few times ya. Naruto-chan visited a few times, a long with Sasuke- san, but I swear, it's nearly impossible to enter this room with all those ANBU outside the door"
Sakura looked up.
"What...?"
"Apparently it was an order directly form Hokage-sama himself"
Sakura leaned back into her pillow.
"I see..."
"Oh, that reminds me, Naruto-chan and Sasuke-san said they'd be coming in again today and visit you, but you have some time, I suggest you try and get some more sleep, restore your energy, ne?" with that, the nurse took her leave.
She sighed and began recalling the dream.
'Sooner or later, whether you like it or not, I will gain control, and when that happens, you die, instantly, there will be no back and forth'
She opened her eyes.
"...so I'm going to die, huh?"
She starred into the white ceiling, deep in thought.
----
Sasuke lay on his bed starring up at his ceiling. He hadn't slept at all since Sakura's...episode, due to the fact that he couldn't get the picture of those huge, beautiful, black wings out of his mind.
"Sigh, I'm gonna go find Naruto..." he mumbled and got up.
He found Naruto in the forest training, not a surprising sight for Sasuke. Naruto stopped and turned to Sasuke.
"Nani?"
"Edo...I was heading up to the hospital, just wanted to see if you wanted to join me" he said.
"Ok, I was gonna head up there today anyway" he said and they both headed up towards the hospital.
----
Kakashi stepped into his student's hospital room.
"Yo" he said in his usual laid back manner, raising one hand.
Sakura turned toward her sensei and smiled 'Finally a familiar face'
"Feeling better?"
"A little, what brings you to the hospital?"
"Well, I came to visit a student of mine, her name's Haruno Sakura, heard of her?"
"Hehe, the name sounds vaguely familiar"
They both laughed at the little joke.
"Seriously Sakura, how do you feel?" Kakashi asked, getting back on the subject.
"Like trash, to put it frankly" She leaned her head on one knee.
"Why is that?"
"My parents are dead, because of me no less, and I feel weak, but that's nothing new"
Kakashi walked up to the bed.
"That's not all is it?"
"Heh, no, I suppose not"
"Care to tell me?"
"...no, I don't"
Kakashi sighed and shrugged.
"Suit yourself, well, believe it or not, there is an actual reason I came to see you today"
Sakura looked back up at the ceiling.
"And that would be?"
"Do you remember what happened in the field?"
"Bits and pieces...if you're referring to the wings then yes"
"I want to make sure you know the level of seriousness this lies upon"
"..."
"Do you know what that was attacking your mind?"
"...I'm...not sure...it seemed alive almost, like an alter ego..."
"...that alter ego...is a demon sealed, or was sealed, inside you...."
Sakura starred at Kakashi.
"...what?"
"The demon sealed inside you, is one of the more dangerous beings on the face of the planet"
"...wow...that's a little...Kami-sama..."
"Hehe, I was expecting you to scream, darn"
Sakura sighed and subconsciously ran her hand through her silky pink hair.
"Sakura?" Kakashi asked with worry and a hint of caution in his voice.
"...I...he...Kakashi-sensei...am I gonna die?"
Kakashi didn't answer at first, which made the tight knot in Sakura's chest tighten a significant deal.
"...no, you wont, we'll deal with this before that happens Sakura, just be strong"
"No"
Kakashi looked up.
"No...I don't need to be strong, I know I wont die from this"
Kakashi smiled.
"Good girl, just keep thinking like that and everything will be fine" He said and got up and left the room.
"No...that's not what I--"
"SAKURA-CHAN!!" A shrill scream cut through the quiet halls of the hospital, making many of the nurses and patients jump slightly.
Naruto came bursting through the door, followed by Sasuke, looking slightly irritated by his friends rude and embarrassing behavior.
"Hello Naruto, Sasuke" She smiled.
"You're up! Yokata, we were getting worried" the fox smiled widely at the pink haired girl. "Isn't that right Sasuke?" Naruto eyed the raven-haired prodigy slyly.
"...a-ah..." was now the blushing boy's response.
Sakura giggled at her two best friends as they both sat down on the stools next to her bed.
"So, how are you doing?" Naruto asked, slightly serious this time.
"Sigh, ok I guess, they're keeping me here 'till tomorrow"
"...ya..." Sasuke mumbled "I always just left"
"We know Sasuke, we've seen it more than enough times to count" Sakura said
"What I'm saying is, just leave, we need to talk to you in private" Sasuke growled.
Sakura sighed.
"So this thing you need to talk to me about...wouldn't be about last week...would it?"
----
"A—h, Yumi-chan, welcome!" A cool, evil voice sounded into the void room standing before the small girl as she entered it."Orochimaru-san, Thank you, your gratitude is an honor" she mumbled to the floor as she entered.
"Good news I hope, Yumi-chan, and I must warn you, one does not address me as Orochimaru-san--"
"With all due respect Orochimaru-san, as much as you fail to see it, I am your equal, if not equal then superior, so I will address you as anything you like except for sama, because you are not my lord, and you are not in control of me, nor will you ever be"
"Sigh, you are very difficult indeed Yumi-chan, well, I suppose I have no choice but to ignore it, now don't I? You are a very special case, Yumi- chan, and a wonderful addition to my team, I would hate to lose you, address me however you wish"
"Arigatou"
"Anyway, back on the subject, do you bring me good news?"
A wicked smile crept across the girls face.
"Indeed Orochimaru-san, I bring good news"
"My lovely Sakura-chan is still alive I hope"
"Indeed, for now she is, the seal was successfully broken by using...certain tactics..."
"So how long do you suggest we wait?"
"I think maybe a month...her mind will have deteriorated enough it will be child's play to collect her and bring her back"
"Excellent, and is there anything that possess a problem?"
"Haha, there are always problems, but nothing Tohru and I cant handle"
"You certainly know how to please me, Yumi-chan, a month it is"
To be continued...
AN: I am sooooooo sorry for taking such a long time to update!!!!!! I don't like rushing my writing because then I risk writing something that's total trash --;;;. And Im sorry if any of the Characters seemed a little out of character or OOC, whatever the hell that means --;; I think it means fluffy or sweet or something, never really figured it out ;;. Aaaaaanyway, please R&R, it will make me extremely happy!!!!!!!!