thinking'

Flash back or dream

"Talking"

Demon or inner

Mary , Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

With huge Church bells, and Gates to Hell

And three demons in a row…

Ah, Mary…

Don't you regret it now?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rays of colored light escaped through the dusty stain glass window. You could see the twinkling grains of dust, falling oh so slowly. The pews were old, dusty, some were falling apart. A couple in fact were discarded messily to the side, broken in half by some unknown force.

Broken candles littered the floor, as old statues of saints looked at the intruders with some sort of an accepting fondness. The cross greeted us as we entered through giant oak doors of the ancient, magnificent church.

Around the walls were pictures of the last supper, murals of the crucifixion. I looked at these pictures in wonder. Jesus had come, riding on his donkey. Everyone loved him, everyone was happy to see him. By the end of the week however, they were shouting, "crucify him! Crucify him!" . That is something I never understood.

I saw Sasori lay Sasuke on one of the pews. He said something softly to Ino, and she quickly, disappeared in the room by the altar. I sat on a spot beside a figure of Mother Mary, standing on a cloud. She was one of the most reassuring things right now. It's like she was saying, "just breath, we'll get through this…" . No, actually that's something my Mom would have said…

Ino reappeared, holding a huge bag with a red cross on it. She stopped rigid, right in front of Sasuke and her hand flew to her mouth before she sharply turned away as if she would vomit. I don't blame her. I could smell the blood even from here…and I guess the sight with that was not pretty.

She dropped the bag promptly at Sasori's feet and made her way towards me after a nod of permission from the stoic demon. She sat herself beside me and put her arm around me, "hey, gal. It's ok now. You're safe. Itachi and everyone will take care of you now". She looked into my eyes, with a pitying smile, "look at you. You must have been through hell. Not knowing what was going on at first, no one to talk to. Some weird, shady guy popping up and telling you some retard story about Angels and Devils…". For a moment she was lost, probably reminiscing her own experience.

At once I thought the atmosphere to stuffy, to serious. So, I'll try to loosen it up a little. "So…" I began, "which one did you tie the knot with?". She looked at me for a few seconds, trying to figure out if I was delirious before a smile broke across her face. "So that's what you see this as, huh? Commitment, commitment…". I smiled as well, letting the girl in me take over for a while, "is it Sasori? He seems pretty good looking". Ino shook her head of golden hair, "no, no. His angel is Deidara. He was probably there a while ago. You know, blonde, blue eyes, the one with a bag of bullets. They're not gay though. They both made a commitment not to marry. They're like brothers now".

My mind wandered back. Yeah, I remember someone with that description. He looked like some artistic bohemian dude to me…but I guess guns and ammo can also be considered art, for guys I mean. "So which one was it, then?" I probed. Her face suddenly took on a dreamy look, "Itachi. He's the one-" "-who looks like Sasuke". She nodded then squealed. I saw Sasori twitch.

"Since Itachi and Sasuke are brothers, that means we'll be sisters in law!" she said, clapping her hands together. I went in reject mode, "wait, you and Itachi are getting married?! Sasuke and I are getting married?! Hell no! Just because we're tied to each other doesn't mean we're actually, actually, tying the knot!". Ino grinned peevishly, "Forehead, your blushing!". Yeah she was right, I was blushing.

She continued, "anyway it's not mandatory for Angels and Devils of opposite gender to end up together, but most of us are! Naruto and Hinata, Neji and Tenny…". I let her go on for a while, "oh! And you should see Tsunade and Jiraiya! They look great together, although Jiraiya's a perv and Tsunade's fabulous , but still…".

Tsunade, that's an unusual name. "Who's Tsunade?". She went silent for a while, thinking out how she would explain, "well, she's like the Supreme angel around here. I hear she's fifty but she looks like she could be twenty. She's got killer strength and a gift for healing. She's a bit of a teacher to some of us Angel's".

Oh great, more schooling, "what does she teach?". "Defense of course!". . . "I'm sorry but what do you mean by that?". "I'll explain it later but let's just say that, sure, Angel's have Demon's to protect them, but…it's always good if we know some tricks of our own".

At that moment the Oak doors swung open. Ino looked up for a second, before getting up and shouting, "Hinata! Ten-Ten!". There was the Hyuuga girl in all her, white, elegant, angelic glory. She smiled politely, and I saw, not a single scratch, or crease in her white summer dress. How do they do it?

Beside her was, the girl with twin buns and Chinese clothing. She on the other hand, looked quite ruffled up. On her skin were numerous beads of sweat as well as several scratches and bruises. She was still panting heavily but managed a peace sign in greeting as well as a triumphant grin. I saw tears on her clothing as well as the chain and spike tucked, at her side.

Ino smiled at them, "so good to see you two back, and well, but Tenny, I'm telling you. Neji will eat your guts for dinner when he gets back and hears his little angel went to the front lines".

Ten-Ten pouted, "don't call me an angel, cause I'm not".

"Right. You're the rebellious, kick butt, warrior girl from Shao Lin".

Ten-Ten's grin spread, "right, and am proud of it".

Just then Ino noticed something amiss, "say, Hinata, where's Naruto?".

The Hyuuga girl's eyes wandered to the door, "he went with Anko , Itachi and Deidara in pursuit of the Subaku Unit".

I looked up in suprise, wasn't Naruto supposed to be the angel of the pair?

Ino sighed, "jeez , Hinata. You're spoiling him. You always let him have his way".

"I suppose. I am a bit worried…"

"If you're so worried, why'd you let him go?"

Hinata gave a smile, "I will not insult his ability nor his will power".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's been hours since, the arrival of Hinata and Ten-Ten and already in that time, the once deserted church had become very crowded. There was a gathering of unusual people.

I saw a lot of strange people. Some I was surprised to actually know, like Shikamaru for example. Chouji had also tagged along. It was these people that I stayed with, drawing a sense of comfort and familiarity from them. It turns out that Shikamaru was some sort of genius tactician to them. Through a strange twist of events, he discovered Itachi and Ino some time way back. Since then he hasn't left the strange coven.

Chouji was also another normality, as I called it. He possessed no specialty whatsoever, however, he stuck around, helping in matters of food when it became scarce, since his family owned a string of super markets shops.

However, there were those I was also uneasy about. One of the later pairs that had arrived, were rather unsettling. It consisted of a man with orange hair with numerous piercings and a blue haired woman with a paper flower in her hair. Without a word, their very presence commanded respect. And I made the mistake of looking into the eyes of the man. I immediately looked away as we made contact. He sauntered towards me, earning a look of confusion from those round him.

"You, with the pink hair. What is your name?".

I gulped an answered in a shaky voice, "Sakura Haruno, sir".

"Do not look at the floor when speaking to me" he said firmly.

With difficult, I looked at his eyes, they were lined with grey rings.

"Are you an Angel, or a Demon?".

"Angel, sir".

"Whose?".

"Sasuke Uchiha's, sir".

"Uchiha…so he finally found an anchor for himself, good…".

He looked at me again, "you have a strong essence. I expect much from you" and with that, he walked away, along with his partner.

My knees nearly buckled as I was caught by Ino, "easy…" she whispered, helping me to my feet.

"Don't worry about Pein", she said, "he's not that bad, Konan makes sure of that".

I just nodded as I sat next to a dozing Shikamaru.

Of course if there were those I would rather avoid, there were some I actually liked very much. One of them was Kabuto. Like Hinata, it was hard to believe, he was a demon. He seemed so warm hearted, as he healed Ten-Ten's scratches and slices. In fact, I actually learned some things from him.

"Consistency" he began, "is an impossibility among Angels and Demons. Most are different from each other. Like how one becomes a demon varies from one to another. Some Demons have special abilities, others don't . The same goes for Angels. There are those who reach god level, the highest level of resonance and power between Angels and Demons. We only have two pairs who reached that high, being Tsunade and Jiraiya, and Pein and Konan. Some Demons can go longer without Angels, other can't. There's a whole world of difference. This is why, you don't need to be afraid to do things your own way".

"Example. There are Angels who choose to fight as hard as their Demons do. This girl here", he ruffled Ten-Ten's hair, "is a good example. She doesn't use much of her essence, but instead uses her natural physical ability. She uses what she learned at Shao Lin to the best usage".

"There are angels who do use their essence, like Naruto. In fact he uses a lot of it since he has one of the biggest essences around. Then there are those like Shizune" he gestured to a woman in the corner with short black hair and long black dress, "she uses her essence for healing. She can repair damaged cells, and tissue with her essence, thus closing up wounds, Like what I'm doing right now. So, any questions?".

I nodded, "are Angels the only ones with essence?". "No. Every living creature has essence, humans especially, but it's just a special few, such as Angels and Demons that can properly utilize it. Technicaly it's a life force, but to use it, you need to be able to switch it on".

Switch it? "Anyway, it happens in due time, you'll learn how to use it sooner or later" he finished.

"Kabuto!" the one named Shizune, called. "Ooops! Sorry, please excuse me", and he walked over to her.

Ino popped up at my shoulder, "so, having fun yet?". I shook my head, "no. My brain's melting".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Another hour passed and I was getting more and more uncomfortable. Ino and Shikamaru were called away on something and Chouji had to go home. This left me, alone in my thoughts. Now, with nothing to distract me, the full situation was dawning on me. My parents, were probably dead. My house, my home, destroyed. My normal life, it's not like I could go to school, now that I was being targeted. To top it all off , it was like I was in a surreal dream, filled with everything in this church and more. The strange pair, Pein and Konan… Essence…the mysterious Tsunade…the psychotic red head…Sasuke injured.

Suddenly I was jerked back. Sasuke! Oh, no! Was he alright? I went over to where Sasori was working for what might have been the seventh time now, only to see that it wasn't Sasori hovering above Sasuke but a young, busty, blonde woman, who I didn't notice enter. She was flanked by Kabuto and Shizune, both whispering urgently as Sasori, stood to the side, letting them work.

"Tsunade-sama, he's completely healed" Shizune whispered. "It's unusual. It seems as though he has an automatic healing factor" Kabuto said. The blonde woman looked up at Sasori, "what is your report?". Sasori, answered in his usual monotone, "after I arrived at the scene, we took a side stop, to drop his angel of at her home, however it was inflames and completely destroyed when we got there. We then came here and when I checked him, his wound had already begun to heal".

Shizune spoke, "it is not impossible for demons to have automatic healing factors, but as far as we've know, Sasuke had never displayed such a factor in the past". "Perhaps, it formed after he found an angel? After all, consistency is a no-no" Kabuto smirked, adjusting his glasses.

The blonde woman turned her head slightly to look at me as if she had known the whole time that I was there, "you're his angel?".

"Uh, yeah. I'm Sakura Haruno-" "-it seems you have some healing powers, girl. I'm Tsunade. Welcome to the gang", she got up and walked over to me. "Kiddo, if there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask. We're family now" she said, her hand on my head despite the fact that I was almost as tall as her.

"As soon as Sasuke wakes up, you're coming with me. I'm not about to leave a lady here, in this dusty old church where there's no shower and no electricity. That's just too cruel" she gave me a smile. "I don't feel like leaving you with Sasuke just yet either. He may have the money to bring you to any swanky hotel you want, but that guy tends to move around a lot, so I want you to get used to things a bit, first" .

I could feel myself warming up to this woman already. It seems to me as though she knew exactly what I was going through, and how to make things better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was evening when the oak doors slammed open to reveal Itachi, Anko, Deidara , Naruto and another guy who I don't know.

Pein and Konan drifted forward to whisper something to Itachi. His face hardened, but immediately calmed down as Ino appeared through the crowd wrapping her arms around his neck. Pein and Konan nodded to Itachi before going through the Oak doors and fading way into the night.

Deidara dropped his bag of bullets on the floor before, heaving an exhausted sigh. "You look tired" Sasori stated as he walked over to Deidara. "I'm dead beat, the puppet guy alone almost took half my ammo, un". "You lost control didn't you". "What? Me going, bomber happy? No way, un. This eyes mean total control, un". At that moment, Ino let go of Itachi and settled at his side, "actually" Itachi began, "I'll have you know he set the park on fire. You'll see it on tonight's news". Deidara received a smack on his head from Sasori. "Damn, demon. Can't not spill, un…" he muttered as he flinched under a Sasori death glare.

I looked at Naruto and saw him, with his arm wrapped around a blissful Hinata, this however earned a sort of growl from the stranger at the door. Focusing on him I realized he looked like a male version of Hinata except…more serious…and meaner. "Now, Neji" came Ten-Ten's voice, "leave them alone. You know Naruto's a good guy".

The one called Neji turned his needle gaze to Ten-Ten. "The only time you use that tone is when you did something you know you shouldn't". Ten-Ten sighed, "I can take care of myself you know…", "you came to the fair today when the Subaku unit was present. What exactly did you do?". "I fought Temari", "you, fought her ?! Ten-Ten, she is a full fledged demon, with an extra power, you are a girl who doesn't even rely on her own essence. The power gap is huge!". Ten-Ten bristled, "a girl?! You regard me as a girl?! I have studied at the Shao Lin temple in China, mastered two kung fu styles, can use just about any weapon well, and you regard me as a girl?! I'm a warrior!". Just when things were about to get ugly, there was a green blur between them.

The blur was revealed to be a boy with bushy eyebrows, a bowl shaped hair cut and a green track suit. "Please, Neji, Ten-Ten, it is un youthful to fight about such trivial matters". There was a silence between the two before, Neji, turned around and huffed, "fine, whatever. Go break your neck for all I care". Ten-Ten's eyes widened but then he was gone. "Neji!" the boy in green shouted but he was gone. Ten-Ten frowned, "Lee, please go ahead and get dinner, I'll go after Neji", and she ran outside.

I'm not sure if she would be able to catch up with Neji and his demonic speed, but hey. That girl had rock hard will power. I'm sure she'd manage.

Anko sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "no offense, Hinata, but that prissy cousin of yours annoys the heck out of me". Naruto retorted this time, "Neji is not prissy he's a by the book neat freak but he is definitely not a prissy. He's actually a pretty cool guy". Anko quirked an eyebrow. Hinata, bowed as if apologizing to the purple haired woman, "please don't take him the wrong way. He has a good heart and doesn't mean to be irksome. He's just going through difficulties with my father right now…". Anko sighed, "fine, I'll put up with him for your sake".

I hated myself at the moment because I suddenly felt entertained by what happened. Seeing other people's problems and difficulties suddenly made me happy I wasn't the only one suffering. I hung my head. Your daughter is such a cold hearted girl, father…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In everything that happened that night, there was still more to come. Soon after Itachi's group arrived, one more group arrived. At the head was a hung man with chin length , grey hair. Behind him, were six more figures. There was a girl just a little bit younger than me. She had orange hair and warm brown eyes. She clung tightly to the leading man's arm. Beside her was a pretty young woman, with fair skin and dark hair.

The girls eyes scanned the crowd until she met the eyes of someone familiar. "Naruto!" she shouted, she let go off the man's arm and made her way to the energetic blonde. "Hi, Sasame!" he said waving. She smiled, "big brother and us Fuumas have some big information for you guys right now" she said as she continued to smile. Naruto looked over her shoulder and at the man with grey hair, "sup' Arashi!", he then turned to the pretty young woman, "well, if it isn't the Koto Princess. The first time we met, you were kicking me down the street". The Koto Princess smiled, "yes, that is one of my fondest memories of you".

There was a 'tsk' from the group, "hey Naruto, how could you forget me?" came from a large , tanned man. Naruto smiled apologetically, "sorry Hanzaki, didn't mean to forget about you…". Arashi spoke up, "forgive me Naruto, but we must cut this meeting short. We have some urgent news for Jiraiya".

"Jiraiya's not here right now, but I'll take it", Tsunade said, stepping forward. Arashi handed Tsunade a file and a big envelope of papers. Tsunade daintily opened it and examined the content. Her eyes brushed over the first sentence before the widened. "You were able to get this much?" she said in awe, while looking at the Fuumas. Arashi, smiled, "the Fuuma clan owes you". Tsunade smiled, "thank you".

Arashi nodded, an headed to the door, "we really wish we could stay longer, but we have some business to attend to". "Understood". Naruto however whined, "but you just got here". Sasame held up a finger, "when business calls, we must come. Well, Ta ta, Naruto! Bye, you guys!". There were murmurs of good byes and farewells, as the strange group, departed from the church.

Tsunade cleared her throat, "well, I assume this gathering was a success. We have new information, and ties have been strengthened. We shall meet here once again in, twenty days time. Dismissed". There was another low mummer amongst the crowd as it began to thin. Various figures, put on their coats, and left, walking, leaping running, across the ground in different directions, all away from the church.

Finally only a hand full was left. "Take care Sakura, see you in twenty days" Ino said, hugging me. "Yeah, Sakura, be careful", Shikamaru added. Itachi stood in front of me, eying me for a moment, "I know you'll take good care of Sasuke" he said, "good luck to you, Sakura Haruno". And with that, the trio left.

As I watched them go, I felt an arm wrap around my waist, and a peck on my cheek. Then there was a playful voice, "next time we'll continue the shopping trip, without all the blood".

Whew. Next chapter done. Forgive me, Neji fans for the earlier remark. I was trying to fit Anko's character. If it was a bit boring, please bare with me. It was important for explanation. Anyways, still

I hope you enjoyed it!

By the way, if you watched, the Naruto first series, you might recognize the Fuumas from episodes 136-139 or so