Author's Note: GUYS! I am so so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I already had a chapter but the diskette in which I kept it got lost, so the entire chapter disappeared! I am so sorry! Well, this chappie will cover most of the people's questions. Anyway, have fun!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, enough said.
Thanks for the reviews, guys! You really inspired me during my writer's block period and period of inactivity! God bless you all!
Ma-chan: Thanks for the review! Hey, you really think it's kawaii? Thanks! Hehehe!
Tina: I really hope you enjoy this part. Um, don't die yet! I need you to review! Ehehe! Thanks!
Dagorwen of Ithilien: Here it is! I don't think I've written a chapter this long. Um, please please please please review again?
Sierra: I love you so much for being so faithful in reviewing! Thanks for the suggestions though I think this story isn't going to take that turn. YET! I'll have to think about it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me so long. This explains almost everything. Except that shadowy man.
Elya fruchia marynlow: Thank you for your encouraging review! Please keep reviewing! Thanks again!
Skye: I did hurry up, I swear! But anyway, the orb thing didn't capture her soul. It's like the orb that the Hokage has? Familiar? Ehehehe! This chapter practically explains it all. Now, all I need is some idea for the action part. Please keep reviewing!
Kurenai Chinoumi: Thank you! Please keep reviewing!
Chapter 7: The Truth
"Oh my God…" Ino whispered as she stared at the clearing. They had just witnessed one of the weird freaks of nature. "I am so glad everybody came out okay…"
They nodded. Naruto emerged from underneath the leaves he was currently buried in. He stared at Ino, "Okay! I am so not okay!"
"What's wrong with you now, Naruto?" Neji asked, his eyes looked tiredly at him. Naruto turned to him, almost hyperventilating. "Did you see that huge gust of wind almost decapitate me! Did you! I could have been killed!"
"But you're not dead yet, dobe." Sasuke muttered. Everybody fell into silence. Yuuhi stood up, "We have to go now."
"Where are we going?" They asked. Yuuhi turned to where the Konoha forest was. He glanced back at them, his eyes also seeming tired, "We need to talk about this. There is much I have to explain…"
They nodded and silently walked behind Yuuhi, who was carrying the now unconscious Sakura. Time passed slowly as they walked silently towards the foreboding forest…
"Wait! I don't want to get lost in there again!" Naruto exclaimed. Yuuhi spoke to him, a smile unexpectedly gracing his lips, "Don't worry, we won't go through here. We'll take a shorter route."
All inwardly sighed as they could not bear the thought of going through the eerie forest at night. Yuuhi took a sharp turn to the left and revealed a path that was well-hidden…
"This is so cool…" Ino said as she stared at all the trees in the bright moonlight. Neji stepped up beside Yuuhi, staring down at his friend, "Is she alright, Yuuhi-san? She looks like death itself."
Yuuhi nodded as he glanced down at his sister. Her face was pale, her hair now loose and messy. She had dirt everywhere and her precious kimono was torn. He stopped, "She'll be fine. She's just exhausted."
"Wow… Look at this place. I've never been here before." Hinata gasped as she took in the scene before her. The sound of water filled their ears as crickets played nature's song. Fireflies hovered over the water, making swirls of light dance before them…
'Wait… Wait! I know this place!' Sasuke felt himself grow warm, his cheeks were red… The girls fawned over the place. Sasuke gulped down whatever embarrassment he had and asked Yuuhi, "What if someone happened upon this place? Wouldn't that leave you vulnerable?"
"Well, actually, nope." His dark-blue eyes were amused. "She used her own created genjutsu to protect this place. If you happened to come here, you wouldn't come out alive."
They started walking once again. Finally they reached the mansion. Yuuhi left the group in the living room while he went up to put Sakura in bed…
SAKURA'S ROOM…
"Sara…" He stroked her pale and cold hand. He felt pain at what he was going to do. "I have to tell them all, you know. It scares me."
She shifted and started to mumble incoherent words. He smiled slightly, "I've always wondered at how you could sleep so peacefully even if everything around you is in chaos."
He shook his head, shaking the memories that plagued him at the moment, "This is reality. We need to face the fact that we can't hide it anymore. This is what we have to do… This is what I have to do…"
With that, he stood up and covered her with the white quilt. He kissed her forehead and slowly walked downstairs…
LIVING ROOM…
"So, Taiku, how did you live as a human, I mean, don't you prefer being human?" Ino asked as the dog, amazingly, served them tea. His eyes sparkled, "Well, Ino-san, being human has its perks but I prefer being my original self."
"Oh… So, you took care of Sakura since she arrived here?" Shikamaru asked as he put his arm around Ino. Everybody sat around a tea table, all in sofas. Taiku nodded, "Yes. She was a very lonely girl. I am glad that Yuuhi-sama created me."
"Created? Man, and I was just going to ask what breed of dog you are. I was thinking you were a nin-dog." Tenten muttered. They saw Yuuhi walk down the small flight of stairs towards them…
"So…" He began. Everybody sat silently, sipping their tea. He glanced at them, "I assume that what I am about to reveal will be kept a secret. It's supposed to be confidential."
They all nodded in agreement. Naruto raised his hand, "Yuuhi-san, those voices? Who were they? What did they want with Sakura-chan?"
"Well, let's see. I'll begin my story with a legend. You might know this already." He glanced at Sasuke and Naruto. "About the Wind goddess?
Both boys nodded. Yuuhi scratched his head, "She isn't a goddess, per say, she was more of a celestial maiden. The ruins in which you found the temple was somewhere near where we lived before."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Those ruins were his hometown's ruins. That was the Uchiha compound before everything had happened…
"Anyway, moving on. The story continues. She comes down from the heavens and falls in love with a mortal. This story would have had a happy ending." Yuuhi whispered sadly. Neji stared at him, "I don't get it. How is this legend, this story, related to you at all?"
Yuuhi shook his head, his voice worn, "You don't understand, Neji. That woman, she was my mother."
They stared at him as if he just said that the world was falling down upon them all. Yuuhi shrugged and continued, "We were living happily you know. Happily and strangely, my father would tell us."
"Why?" Hinata asked. Naruto nodded, "What do you mean by strangely?"
"As you can see, strange things happen around my sister, right?" They nodded in affirmation. "That's not coincidental. She has my mother's powers."
"And they are?" Neji asked, obviously taking this into deep thought. Yuuhi replied, "The power to control wind. The wind goddess wasn't just a simple pretty maiden, she had a special aura about her."
"I don't understand, what do you mean?" The white eyed man stared at him. "Okay, this is harder than I thought… It's like we have our own advanced blood line but it isn't really a bloodline."
"Oh…" They all pondered his words. Taiku spoke up, "But you do have an advanced bloodline, Yuuhi-sama."
"Oh yeah, we do!" Yuuhi gave a sheepish grin. "We can control our chakra perfectly, but I'm not sure how that can be an asset, though."
"Yes, I've seen that ability in Sakura before. I would spar with her and she always seemed to have an unlimited supply of chakra. She never ran out of genjutsus." Neji commented, nodding at his realization…
"My father had that bloodline, so do I. Since my sister has the power to manipulate wind, I got the power to interpret its breezes and waves. Also, I can sort of create magical beings." Yuuhi smiled as he pointed out Taiku.
"I don't think that's all the Sakura-chan has. She has more powers than that. She healed me several times." Naruto said. Hinata nodded, "And when we were children, she would sit and just stare. Then, a comforting breeze would blow."
Ino nodded, "Yes. I know that, I never could explain it, you know. And yeah, when you get to her bad side, the wind blows so strongly, it kinda pulls you off the ground."
Yuuhi smiled slightly and bowed his head, "I'm sorry if it caused you any physical damage. She was supposed to be isolated, so that no one would get hurt."
"It's okay. She's fun." Ino and Hinata simultaneously said. They smiled at each other. Sasuke stared at Yuuhi, eyes perceptive…
"So, your family lived near where we found the ruins, right? What happened?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know more about Sakura's past, it being connected to his home's ruins…
"Yes, we did. Like I said, we lived happily until the day after my sister turned seven, we were attacked. My father was a known swordsman and his rival raided our house…"
"Wait! You haven't answered my question yet, Yuuhi-san!" Naruto piped up. Sasuke winced at Naruto's loud voice…
Yuuhi glanced at him and nodded, "The voices, right? Like I said, she has my mother's powers to control the wind. She inherited that when she was seven."
"Uh-huh… But who are the voices!" Naruto was getting impatient, Hinata placed her hand on his arm, calming him down. "Naruto-kun, please calm down. I'm sure Yuuhi-san will explain in a little while."
Yuuhi nodded, closing his eyes, "They are the four great winds, my mother's companions that go with her wherever she goes. Actually, they've been locked up inside Sakura, for so long..."
"What'll happen if they were set free?" Shikamaru asked. Lee and Tenten nodded…
"They haven't been set free because we stopped the process. What happened a while ago, was the start. Setting them free would kill Sakura, because she doesn't know how to control them yet." Yuuhi said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"So, if Sakura can control them, she can let them go?" Neji asked. Yuuhi faltered for a bit, "This is hard to explain…"
They looked at him now with more interest. He sighed, "Sakura can control them if she learns. What I fear now is her mental health. She doesn't remember the past, when we used our powers openly."
They nodded, not interrupting him. "The great winds can use their persuasion, they are, after all, the voices in her head. And if they do, it'll make the end of the world certain."
"The four winds, they're evil?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head. Yuuhi shook his, "Nobody knows. I know that they were like my mother's siblings. I don't know if they would think of Sakura in that way."
"Why not? I mean, her mother is their mistress, right?" Hinata spoke up. Ino nodded, thinking the same thing…
"We are crossbreeds. I don't really know much about this but I sort of have this feeling that they don't like crossbreeds much." Yuuhi whispered. Silence once again ensued…
"I forgot, Yuuhi-sama, that Sakura-sama has a very good chance of turning to evil." Taiku said. They looked at him bewildered…
"Yes… That's true. At this state, her mind is unstable. She can be possessed by the winds or can be brainwashed by some other person who knows what she has inside her." Yuuhi explained.
Taiku sat up, wagging his little fluffy tail, "That is why we have to take care of who speaks to her…"
"Wait! Yuuhi-san, you said she inherited them, the winds… What does that mean?" Sasuke suddenly spoke up, breaking away from his eerie silent attitude…
"Heh… I don't remember much of what happened, you know. As I was running, I was grabbed by a ninja clad in black." Yuuhi said, recalling the horrible events. "I found out later that it was one of my grandparents' shinobi."
"And then, the whole house burned down…" Ino whispered. She shook her head, "I saw Sakura running in the woods. It scared me, I felt her emotions all over me."
Yuuhi nodded. His eyes were distant, teary, "I was taken away. I could hear her call me. I heard the pain in her voice. I swore that I would come back to her when I got out of my grandparents' secret house."
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He stared at the ceiling. "The ninja made me stand by as I watched my father die. He was to kill Sakura too."
"But then, a bright light shot out from your mother's hand." Ino continued for him. Yuuhi nodded…
"Yes, when I woke up, I didn't know where I was. Or what had happened to Sakura. They hid me there until I found out my grandparents died."
The group felt the floor and the ceiling strangely interesting after he said that. Sasuke spoke up once more, "You still didn't answer the question, Yuuhi-san."
"Oh yeah…" the blue-haired man whispered. He closed his eyes. "Like I said, I didn't know what happened after the bright light shot out. But I think… I think, my mother… she-"
"She died saving me! She died and gave me my powers!" a muffled voice erupted from out of nowhere. Yuuhi stood up. He turned around and saw Sakura, half-leaning, half-groping the sides of the walled stairway…
"I remember it all now, Onii-chan. I remember the blood, the bodies. They made me remember." Sakura said lowly, her voice soft and dripping with poison. She wasn't well.
"Sara, what's wrong with you? You shouldn't walk around so much, you've only woken up!" Her brother walked towards her lithe figure. He tried to hold her but she only backed away…
"You don't know what it's like. My powers will only bring destruction! I don't know what I'll do!" Her voice was now hysterical and strangled…
Everybody had stood up by that time. All were unsure as to what they were to say to this grieving girl. Her hair was all over her face, hiding her green eyes…
"Sakura…" Neji began. She held up her hand to stop him. A smirk found its way to her lips…
"Neji-kun, would you like to know myside of the story?" Her voice was sarcastic and had a dangerous tone. He shut up. She smirked even more, "Didn't think so."
"Sara! Wake up! They're taking over you! You have to control them!" Yuuhi cried out to her. She shook her head…
"They gave me my memories back, Onii-chan. Shouldn't I thank them?" She smiled a sinister smile. Just then, they felt a flash of light and Sakura was on the ground, holding her head…
"Onii-chan… Help me, please… Please!" She was muttering. Ino and Hinata ran to her, and each held their friend's hand. Yuuhi went to her and hugged her…
"It's alright, Sara… You'll be fine… I'm here." He whispered. Then, another flash of light. Sakura was standing up again, Ino, Hinata, and Yuuhi were all on the floor, staring up at Sakura's standing form. They all watched as Sakura conjured up a storm in her own living room…
"This power-" She started, creating a ball of wind in her palm. It grew. "Okaa-san gave me this power, not even telling me what it could do…"
"Sakura!" Sasuke and Neji called out simultaneously. Sakura glanced at them. She shook her head, "No! Stay away! I don't want to hurt you!"
They marched forward, enduring the huge gusts of wind pushing them back. Yuuhi immediately stood up. The others tried to get a hold of something…
"Sakura!" Neji yelled out to her. She turned to them, hair all over her face, smile sinister, "Do you honestly think she's listening to you right now? There's no way you'll get her back."
The voice obviously wasn't her. Yuuhi shuddered at the icy tone. He took another step forward. Sakura was now in her wind sphere again, holding her head, "No… Make it stop… Please, make it stop!"
The winds only blew stronger. Lee held Tenten's had as she tried to keep her hair buns intact. Naruto was holding Hinata, and Shikamaru, Ino…
Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura's cowering form in the wind sphere. 'Sakura…' "Sakura!"
"No, don't come any closer! They'll kill you! They'll kill all of you!" She told them. Her face was still covered. Yuuhi didn't pay any attention to her. He walked closer, until he was touching the wind sphere, making its rotation slow down…
"Sakura…" He began, a small soft tone. She suddenly glanced up at him, her eyes wide. He NEVER called her that. NEVER. His tone was NEVER that soft. Her eyes widened more, recalling. He was mad at her, she knew it…
"No, get away… You're mad at me." She cried. She was sobbing, inside a sphere of wind as everyone stared at her…
Yuuhi didn't listen to what she said. He pushed his hand through the sphere, holding it out for her to take. She stared at the hand, and shook her head slowly as her eyes were wide, "No… No… NO!"
She screamed. A bright light engulfed them all. They opened their eyes. And she was gone…
SOMEWHERE…
"Ah… I see you left them, little cherry blossom… That isn't very wise." Cold red eyes appeared once again in the darkness. The green orb glowed, showing the location of the girl being observed…
"What are we to do, Master?" Three shadows appeared behind the shadow of the red-eyed man. Pearly white teeth shone, "Go to her. Bring her to me."
They disappeared without a trace. The red eyes widened, three black specks visible, "Yes… Bring her to me…"
HARUNO MANSION…
"Where did she go!" Neji yelled out in rage. Everybody slowly picked themselves up. Naruto shrugged, "Like hell I know, Neji!"
"I'm not asking you, idiot!" He shouted. Hinata placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder, eyes sharp, "Neji-nii-san, please calm down or I will have to make you."
Neji turned to Hinata and she saw the pain inside his eyes. She nodded to him, giving his shoulder a small squeeze…
"She couldn't have gotten far… Her body is still recuperating. She won't stay awake for long." Yuuhi said worriedly. Everybody looked at him. Sasuke stared outside the window…
Everything was in shambles. Splinters were everywhere and broken shards of pottery. Taiku had brought out his cleaning materials.
"You never call her Sakura, Yuuhi-san…" Sasuke remarked. Yuuhi sat down at his dismembered chair and sighed, "No, I never did. Only when I was mad. It was to wake her up…"
Lee helped Tenten to her feet. Ino was nursing a cut on Shikamaru's arm. The window was wide open, revealing a beautiful night sky…
"There it is again!" Hinata exclaimed. Yuuhi stared outside the window. Ino nodded, "The breeze. It's there again!"
Yuuhi turned to them. His face was serious. A gust of air blew at him, and his eyes narrowed. They all stood up, looking at him questioningly…
He walked towards the door, turning around and said, "Sakura. She's in danger."
SOMEWHERE…
'Sakura… Sakura…'
Sakura looked up. Her dull green eyes showed her fatigue. She ran a hand through her messy pink locks and sighed, wiping the tears away, 'Look, I've got a bunch of problems that you caused and the last thing I need right now is you bothering me!'
They quieted down. She gave a huge sigh of relief. She shook her head, remembering her brother's words…
'He never called me that… Never…' She pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the open field around her…
'Sakura… Sakura…'
'Didn't I tell you to go away? Just leave me alone!' She cried to them. She was hurting now. She didn't need their stupid voices in her head.
"Well, well, look what we found here?" an unknown voice rang around her. Sakura stopped…
'We tried to tell you…'
'Shut the hell up!' Pain surged through her body. Her eyes became dazed. She felt her body collide with the ground. Her eyes stared into the dark blue night sky, and before everything went dark…
She saw three shadows, looming over her…
Author's Note: Wahoo! There we go! Ugh, glad to get that off of me! I am indeed, from the bottom of my heart, so sorry! School's been hard, got lots of homework, college in the Philippines is not easy! Well, anyway, what else? Read and review? Wait, who am I kidding? READ AND REVIEW! –chibi-abi
