Well, went to my happy place and found the hatred I needed to write this chapter. I hope I nailed the emotion. It's all I'm good at, anyway. (Sorry the chapters are so short. They get longer as the story progresses, I promise.)

Ch.3: Visit from a Midnight Stranger

Beryl green eyes slowly appeared through lowered lashes. She fluttered her eyelids, slowly regaining consciousness as she lay on the rug on her bedroom floor. Her muscles ached and her breathing was labored, her throat raw from screaming.

She sat up slowly, small moans of pain escaping her lips as she pushed her body up. She looked up at the clock. It was two in the morning? It said twelve earlier, so what had happened in those two hours? Did she fall asleep on the floor?

Brushing her hair from her face, she felt her elbow brush against something and looked behind her to see white feathers caught in the moonlight.

She reached forward, fingers hesitantly wrapping around the feathers and tugged them, blinking when she felt her shoulder turn with the pull. Looking behind her, her eyes widened in horror. Those feathers were wings and what was more, they were hers.

'Okay, Sakura. Calm down. This has to be a prank. Something Ino thought up when she found out you weren't drunk. Yeah, that's it. That explains every—'

The sound of glass shattering interrupted her thoughts, watching as the shards gleamed in the moonlight. Something…something was in the room with her. It was in shadow, but she could see one thing.

Red eyes.

"Ah-h-h-h!" Sakura screamed, holding her hand in front of her as she shut her eyes. A brief warmth touched her skin and she heard something get hit and something thick splatter the floor before hands grabbed her arms. She struggled, arms trying to escape an iron grip as she felt a hot gaze on her skin and let out a cry of pain as she was slammed against the wall. Whatever was grabbing her was saying something to her, but she was too disorientated to understand it. Why was the room spinning?

Hands gripped her wrists painfully as another sentence was uttered. Tears began stinging her eyes and she felt her heart throb in her chest like a bomb about to go off. She was going to die, wasn't she? She was probably going to die like this. Her friends flashed before her eyes.

'Hinata, I'm sorry for making you take them home. I hope you got home safe. I don't deserve a friend like you. Tenten, I hope you find someone. Ino…what do I say about you? You were stuck-up, brash, rude, and the best friend a girl could ever ask for. How are you going to react when you find out I'm gone? Will you be sad or will you be happy now that forehead girl is gone and you don't have to worry about me anymore?'

And then she remembered something. It was a memory of the two of them in a field. They were five and they were making some stupid promise to each as they were picking flowers.

"Hey Sakura-chan."

"Yes, Ino-chan?" Sakura asked, chin-length hair billowing in the breeze, her friend's short blonde hair doing the same.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be a mommy!" she smiled and Ino smiled too. "Yeah, me too. Hey, how about when we get older, we go to each other's weddings?"

"Sure."

It was such a stupid promise. It was so trivial, so why was she remembering it now? But…she swore that they see each other's weddings. They swore on their friendship. She swore on their friendship, which was the most sacred vow she ever made.

An eerie glow enveloped Sakura. Her body trembled against the wall, eyes screwed shut and fists balled tight. "Damn it, Ino. You'll probably kill me if I don't show up," she said through gritted teeth, a short laugh escaping despite herself. Snapping her head up, she pressed her legs against the wall, pushing herself off to tackle her assailant to the ground, gasping as they wrapped their fingers around her throat. She reached up, trying to desperately pry their fingers off. Panic had already rung the alarm bells in her head long before, but now the fear was beginning to set in. It was what made it real. Fear was what made dying real.

"N…"

They rolled on top of her, pinning her down as they wrapped their fingers tighter, their teeth flashing in the moonlight, and briefly she wondered what would happen to her if those gleaming canines sank into her flesh. Just then, a sensation akin to sharp needles boring into her skin awakened her to the sensation of pain and she remembered where she was.

"N…no!"

A ball of light escaped Sakura's hand, hitting her attacker in the shoulder. They let go with a hiss and a steady stream of curses, shoulder singed and slightly disorientated. This was the only chance she had. If they regained their bearings, she was done for.

Leaping up, she used her weight to push them down as she gripped their throat with her left hand and they fell. Grunts left both their mouths as the wind was knocked from their bodies, but Sakura kept a tight hold, straddling their stomach to keep them from moving; another ball of blue light was glowing steadily in her poised hand. She could hear her blood coursing through her veins and knew her swallowing was audible.

"Do it!" they demanded. Her eyes focused on their face. Even though it was dark, she could make out their features and she peered down at her attacker.

Spiked raven hair; that was the first thing she noticed. Second was the structure of his face, his features fine and smooth as if sculpted in the image of a noble. Dark marks marred his pale skin and she realized he couldn't have been older than she was. Dragging her gaze to look behind him, she saw black wings. And then, she saw them. His red eyes.

'He's the guy from my dream. What is he doing here?'

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Do all angels ask that of someone before they kill them?" he said with a hollow chuckle as he faintly smiled at her sadly. His breathing was labored and the smell of blood and seared flesh made her wrinkle her nose.

"An angel? Is that what I am?"

He rolled his eyes. "No shit, girlie. Take a look at yourself."

And she looked at herself. When had she changed out of her pajamas into a white robe? Was this why her hand was glowing and why she had wings? Because she was an angel?

A growl below her brought her back to her senses as his hands balled at his sides. "What are you waiting for? Do it. Go ahead and kill me so you can go brag to your stupid friends. You're no better than them. You're no better than him! This is why I hate you stupid mortals. You have no idea how easy you have it! All you know is how to take and destroy! All you know is hatred towards each other and how to cause pain. I hope you all die!"

His eyes were wild and he looked at her with seething hatred, daring her to kill him, to prove to him that he was right in his assumptions. Watching her bite her lip and pull her arm back even further, he closed his eyes and waited for his death when he felt her slide off him. She was still there. He could sense her presence, and he opened his eyes to see that she was beside him, wings gone and looking at him.

"Do you…need any help?" she asked, her hand glowing. He hissed.

"Don't touch me. You do and I'll have to kill you," he told her, eyes constantly flitting to her glowing hand. She hadn't even realized her hand was glowing. What was wrong with her? Was this a dream? She reached forward with her left hand to see the cut on his face and he batted it away and she looked at her hand, throbbing and slightly red from the light slap he gave it. The pain felt real enough.

"Do you need a first-aid kit? I have one in my bathroom if you want it."

When he didn't answer, she went to her bathroom regardless. The man looked around confusedly. What had just happened? He was alive? That angel had…spared him? Angels never spared demons, just as demons never spared angels. It was in their blood. The war from centuries past still flowed through their veins, but this girl…it was like she knew nothing of it.

"I'm back."

He leapt slightly. He hadn't sensed her arrival. How could he have let down his guard? She could've killed him right there and he wouldn't have known what happened to him until it was too late. Luckily, she seemed unaware of the momentary lapse.

"Could you go on the bed, please?" Sakura asked and watched as he stared at her, gaze measuring her carefully before slowly moving onto the bed. Once there, she watched his wings fade, disappearing into thin wisps of smoke. The black marks that had covered his body began receding to an area on his shoulder and she watched in amazement as they slinked over his skin, disappearing into a mark surrounded by kanji, before going over to him.

Sitting on the bed, she began taking out a pair of tweezers, rubbing alcohol, and some cotton balls. Dipping the cotton balls into the alcohol, she began to tentatively sterilize his wounds, watching for any hint of discomfort on his face, but it remained stoic as if he didn't even know she was treating his wounds.

'He's quiet,' she thought to herself as she dabbed a small cut on his shoulder.

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked quietly in an attempt to make conversation. The room had gotten too quiet for her taste and she had never really liked the idea of complete silence, no matter how tranquil it was. The man remained silent and Sakura picked up on the hint, quickly dropping the subject. She wouldn't talk anymore.

In an effort to keep her mind off the silence, she began looking at him. Maybe it was because despite trying to kill her, he was still gorgeous, or maybe it was because she wanted to look at anything beside the broken glass and blood stains on her carpet, but she did it anyway, and in scanning him over, she realized the extent of the damage.

He had third-degree burns on his shoulder and his side, the skin shiny and raw in some areas while others were a smoldering black. Deep gashes wept blood on his shoulders and chest, the glass fragments shining like diamonds at her, and she noticed he had several smaller cuts up and down his body. Something faintly shined at her in the light and peering closer, she realized they were scars. They covered his back and hands as well, but one caught her eye in particular, a long thin scar that went across his shoulder blades, spanning from his right shoulder to the bottom of his rib cage on his left side. She reached out to touch it.

"I'll do it."

"Huh?" she asked softly, startled from her trance to see him already rooting through her first-aid kit for bandages. Watching as he quickly bandaged his hands and his torso, she slipped off the bed.

"Well, it looks like you have things covered," she said with an embarrassed smile, feeling stupid for gawking at a scar. "You're welcome to take my bed and stay the night or until you feel better. I'll just take the couch."

And as she walked towards the doorway, she thought she heard something. Turning to look over her shoulder, she watched him pick up the gauze roll and started to bandage himself again, the cotton between his teeth as he tightened the gauze. Turning away, she began the walk towards the couch downstairs and stopped outside the doorway, a smile playing on her lips as she remembered the words he had said as if a whisper on the wind.

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."