Now

He loves to watch her when she sleeps. Her pink tresses flow across the pillow like vines growing on a wall, naturally decorating what was once the ordinary and turning it into a masterpiece.

Indra lets his hand softly caress her skin as the sun brings a new day. She is covered in a thin white bed sheet, clothed in a pale gown, which adds to a look of purity that contradicts with the strength in her fists. He is at peace, having had enough sleep for the first time in a thousand years. The recent sunsets and sunrises have brought him time with his beloved, time to get to know one another as they did when they were courting.

The time is coming and he can feel it. Her transformation into his Indrani is almost, if not fully, complete. She remembers everything, from the way they enjoy to take walks with their toes in the sand to how soft her laugh gets when she displays too much happiness. However, Sakura's own qualities are still present and though Indra enjoys it, he knows that they must come with faint memories of the life she needs to forget.

He knows that Sakura will not entirely be like his old wife. Though the similarities are endless, such as the physical appearance and goodness of heart, this version of his beloved has a strong will and a voice with an opinion that goes beyond what the women of his time were allowed to say. Indra loves it. He embraces these new good qualities, quite aware that Sakura's strong values will legitimately be passed down to their new clan once they renew their vows.

They cannot be fully happy with one another until her past is wiped out of her body. Sakura has already accepted that her place is with him, that is for sure. However, subconsciously, there is a thin threat that links her back to her village and, Indra dreads, to Sasuke. Once they drink from the same cup of sake, say the same words, she will no longer be the kunoichi he once encountered during his visit to Earth.

The preparations are underway to their official reunion in this utopia. Life will once again be perfect in two days' time.

"Just two more days, my love," Indra whispers, and Sakura's eyes slowly open as she regains consciousness.

She sweetly smiles at him, shifting her position until they face one another, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Indra imagines her in a rose coloured kimono, her head adorned with precious stones and flowers, beside him as they become one.

Sakura runs the tips of her fingers through her beloved's cheek, tracing imaginary lines. He has always been her everything, even before she knew what those words meant. Her heart is his by right.

"Two days until what?" she asks, fully aware of what he will answer but nonetheless wanting to hear the words.

Indra's dark orbs do not stray from her beautiful, fine features. "Until we renew our vows and begin a new life. A life of just you and me. Here, where no sickness can invade you and no wars can kill me. Where we do not have to confuse ourselves with previous and future lives, for this one will be eternal. Where we can finally watch our children grow up with a mother. And then, when the time comes, we will welcome eternity with open arms together, as one."

She buries her head in his chest, smells the freshness that he brings, and lets him embrace her with strong arms. "It is what I've always wanted."

His progress is already complete. He is at full strength, having retrieved every ounce of chakra left in the Uchiha's existence. The brat must be long gone by now, seeing as Indra himself can perform all of his techniques without drawbacks.

Once Sakura drinks out of the cup, she will be at her highest peak as well. She will go back to being his old love in body and soul.

Naruto's feet dig into the soil after they land. If he was still in his learning years, he would have lost balance and fallen on his arse with the intensity of the impact. He looks to his side, and finds Sasuke standing, entirely unaffected by their rough landing. Some things will never change. His eyes begin to scan the area, which was the opposite to what he was expecting.

When they crossed into this dimension, Naruto thought that he would find the same sort of lava-filled, infernal scenario that Kaguya had created. It seems that, though space travelling runs in the family, Indra's taste in environment differs from his grandmother. Naruto is almost taken aback by the serenity of this place; there are mountains, trees covered in cherry blossoms, and the strong smell of the ocean.

Sakura's chakra is nowhere to be sensed, perhaps due to the increased presence of every other aspect in this dimension. Nonetheless, neither he nor Sasuke let down their guard. This is Indra's dimension after all, and he will be shortly notified of their arrival if he hasn't already been. Who knows what must have happened in the span of time that his female teammate has spent in here.

She better be safe and in one piece, he thinks. Sakura has been there for him many times, but he regrets not giving her the same amount of support when it comes to training (because he does not understand her and Tsunade's medical lingo) and her personal life (he would rather let her and Sasuke be). Now that they are in this situation, without a way to turn back until they get a hold of her, he plans on paying her back for all of those times that he should have been a better friend.

"We need to go over there," Sasuke says, his mismatched eyes looking east. After all, they don't have a lot of time in this dimension before Asura's chakra runs out, and they still need to figure out a way to get out.

He contracts and retracts his fingers, still getting used to the return of his dominant arm. There is a slight breeze dancing in the air, reminding Sasuke of the spring season back in Konoha. In spite of its calming appearance, he knows that they have landed in more of the most hostile environments to have ever existed.

And so, they run. They run east, towards the slight sensation of chakra and the sounds of the sea. Sasuke does not know why, but something deep within him says that it is the place they should be. Maybe he is still somehow connected to Indra, or Asura's chakra is guiding them in this nameless path. Or maybe it is the strong connection he has created with Sakura in throughout the years.

The mountain range is endless, and it feels like they need to jump from mountaintop to mountaintop before arriving in their destination. Indra must have invested a lot of his time in the last thousand years building this dimension. There are imperfections like the ones found in their world, animals, trees, and soil reminiscent of the ones in Sasuke's travels.

Here, the sky is clear and the rising sun is the protagonist. This place could be considered beautiful if it wasn't Indra's creation.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouts, being far ahead from his best friend. "I think I found it!"

He catches up to his blond comrade, and they both stop at the edge of a mountain cliff. It drastically drops down to a beach, the sight of seagulls hovering over the water looking like white dots moving around in random patterns. Sasuke follows strip of light brown sand with his eyes, trying to estimate how long it goes until he finds something at the end of the beach.

A fortress. At least what seems like a fortress, or ruins, who knows. But there is something over these, many miles away from where they are standing, and he just knows that that is where they need to go.

Naruto addresses him with his orange eyes, "That's where they are. I can sense the presence of two chakra signatures."

For some odd reason, though, Sasuke feels a heavy weight in his heart. He knows that their goal is to get Sakura back at any cost (an ironic turnout of events after being gone for so many years), but a part of him dreads this reunion. They have only been apart for a little over a week in Sasuke's own timeline. However, he can clearly remember Asura's words, dictating that time runs differently in this dimension.

For Sakura, it could have been weeks, months, years since she last saw him. She may not even be herself anymore.

Is this how she and Naruto felt after he defected the village and they briefly reunited? She must have dreaded seeing him again, unsure of whether he is trustworthy or not. After all, they did try to kill one another at one point. Had it happened, Sasuke would not be the same man he is today.

Suddenly he feels extremely guilty for causing her so many years of pain. He felt like this after the end of the war, but the guilt seems to weigh heavier on his shoulders in this dimension. Perhaps it has added on to the pain that his past lives inflicted on hers and settled on his shoulders so that he finally makes it right in this lifetime...

He needs to save those thoughts for later. "Naruto," he says, "we need to craft a plan. Indra has Susano'o, so I will attack head on while you go and find Sakura. We don't know if it's only the two of them at that place, but I'm more suitable for combat against him. You need to get her, understood?"

Naruto shoves his shoulder with his fist. "It's like you underestimate me, teme. I'm the strongest of the two, future Hokage and all that. Of course I'm gonna get Sakura, so don't get your panties wet 'cause you think your woman won't want to see me rescuing her."

Sasuke firmly grabs his arm, his jaw tense and with determination burning in his eyes. Though he knows why his best friend wants to lighten the mood, this is no time for jokes.

"Do as I say. This is Sakura. I can't -we can't lose her."

He releases his grip on Naruto's arm, whose expression has hardened. "You and her have a lot in common when it comes to saving a comrade."

"Let's go."

Indra's eyes burst open, seeing red and feeling rage.

They're here.

He has to prevent his face from distorting with the amount of anger he feels, just in case Sakura wakes up from her slumber in his arms and catches him in this state. He feels anger at himself. Anger and disappointment.

Because he can feel Uchiha Sasuke roam through his lands. And he's not alone -no, of course not. He is with his little brother's reincarnation, for the chakra signatures feel way too familiar to be someone else.

He liberates one of his arms from Sakura's form, already feeling the hollowness of not fully embracing her, and lifts his index and middle finger. A puff of smoke appears and replaces the original Indra, who then exits the bedchambers. He takes one last look at Sakura before leaving, fully aware that she is one of the strongest kunoichi to have ever encountered, and darts across his castle at full speed.

However, this is his own battle and she mus not interfere at any cost. Indra does not want to think what would happen if she does. He never thought it would get to this point. The Uchiha brat should have been dead long ago. Unless...

"Asura," Indra grinds his teeth at the name.

His younger brother interfered. Just like he always does. Asura snatched his place as heir to the Ōtsutsuki, killed the love of his life a thousand years ago, led him to a world of darkness and wartime, and cursed him with tragic reincarnations. Now he is back, though not physically, to once again steal his chance of a prosperous life. Indra knows that part of Asura's chakra followed him to the moon with the excuse of guarding their sealed grandmother.

But Indra knows better than that; he knows that the only trustworthy relative he's ever had was Kaguya, the one who taught him his basic values. His father and brother, uncles and cousins, distant relatives and servants, everyone else was never worth his time. And now, his little brother must learn that he needs to pay for whatever he's taken.

In the middle of his aggravated speed, Indra bites his thumb with fury and perform the right hand seals. A large could of smoke covers him momentarily before revealing Airvata, his majestic summon, and him sitting on top. The elephant lets out a booming noise, connecting with the feeling of his master as they stomp their way out of the castle.

Indra forms another seal with his right hand and readjusts himself on Airvata's neck as the creature levitates from the ground and stars to fly towards their adversaries.

He can see them from far away. Two young men running at full speed along the beach that he so treasures. They must be wiped out before Sakura notices his departure. Airvata disappears in another large cloud of smoke and Indra is back on his feet, his hand already at the hilt of his sword while his irises change in shape. He activates the same technique he used all those years ago.

Indra's body is fully covered in purple flames as an armor larger than Airvata and any living creature takes form. He better end this quickly, using Susano'o is the most efficient method he has.

And in the distance, he sees a similar body of purple flames form.

"Just as I thought," Sasuke says as he analyzes his past life. His Susano'o is back to its full form, something he has not achieved since this cursed sickness invaded his body. He must thank Asura for his chakra; without it, none of this would be possible. "Naruto!"

"You got it 'ttebayo!" his best friend exclaims before another set of orange flames cover his body.

He gives Sasuke one last nod before the two charge forward separately. Naruto swerves towards the mountains while Sasuke hovers along the shore. They both draw close to their opponent, Indra covered in a Susano'o of the same magnificence as Sasuke's, ready for attack. So far, their plan goes accordingly; Indra appears to be too focused on attacking them to notice when Naruto flies past him and towards the castle while Sasuke's Susano'o clashes with his ancestor's.

The ground cracks open and it is almost as if an earthquake had happened. Sasuke does not take his eyes away from Indra, conveying every inch of wrath he feels for the man who should have been dead long ago.

"Why are you still alive?" Indra shouts, extending his Susano'o's arms until they lock Sasuke's shoulders. The Uchiha, on the other hand, stands firm on his ground as his armour defends him.

"I should be the one asking that question."

"You have no right!"

There is a kick, and Sasuke's wings lifts him up. He throws a spear at Indra's Susano'o, but the Ōtsutsuki swiftly dodges jumping up until he is at the same altitude as his adversary and begins to send more kicks and punches.

The fight is majestic in sight, creating seismic reactions on the ground and larger tides in the ocean. It gets to the point that the water is reaching mountaintops, submerging part of the sand strip that separates them. Indra is not concerned with the change of geography; he can work on restoring this dimension into its original beauty once he is done with the Uchiha brat.

"You have no business coming back to life, Indra."

He narrows his eyes at Sasuke's statement. Ha, as if the boy knew what he's talking about. He did not remain in the moon for a thousand years to end up being bossed around by his reincarnation, whose life choices have brought him to the misery he deserves. Sakura was never meant to stay with Sasuke, and it is this brat's fault that he does not understand that.

Not to mention that his brother's reincarnation thinks that he can sneak into his castle without consequences. It is almost a joke, that these two think they can defeat him.

"Sakura-chan, I'm coming for you!" he exclaims those words, but the scene that breaks out in front of his eyes shows the opposite.

The castle is close enough for Naruto to feel confident about saving his other best friend. However, he was not expecting to see one of its sides explode into rubble and dust, much less that a large elephant (larger than the ones he has seen in any of the Shinobi Nations) would appear flying out of it. He has to stop dead on his tracks as his mind tries to sink in what he has just witnessed.

The large elephant flies past him in incredible speed. Naruto's head jerks back while following its trail. That's when he catches it. That hint of pink tresses and of the familiar chakra he has not sensed in weeks.

"Sakura-chan!"

He follows behind the creature and its rider, still too puzzled to figure out what has actually happened. They must be heading to where Indra and Sasuke are, and Naruto feels a rock drop on his stomach at the possibilities of what may happen.

"Hm, kid. It seems like you got your panties in a pinch."

"Not now, Kurama!" he shouts out loud, irritated with the beats inside of him. "I need your power!"

He needs to catch up to them. After all, he is the son of the Yellow Flash.

There is a large eruption on the ground, sending him flying upwards with its intensity. It is all too familiar to the ones he's known since he was fifteen.

No, no, no no no no no!

Sasuke can barely register what occurs before the ground fully splits in two, creating cracks and craters in all directions as he falls back on it. With the sudden impact, his Susano'o deactivates and he finds himself dug deep within one of the craters, with bruises staining his limbs and torso. He almost flicks his right eye back to black if it wasn't for the sight in front of his eyes.

He sees it. Sees her.

There she is, atop of a gigantic elephant, with her pink hair past her shoulders. With different clothing; a white gown with petals embellishing the fabric. Her fists do not sport her usual gloves, but are rather bruised with the impact of the punches she threw at him. Her beauty is striking with this appearance. As if she was taken out of an old legend.

"Ah, my Sakura. You've come to rescue me," he hears Indra say.

All he wants to do is call out her name because he has not said it to her in what feels like an eternity. And he remembers -oh, he remembers- when he first saw her after his defection all those years ago. Their roles are now reversed; him looking up at her, dumbfounded and in disbelief, while she stares down at him with an indifference that has never manifested before.

Sasuke feels that his heart grows heavier and darker, for Sakura's eyes remain unchanged as she observes him from atop an elephant. Indra is behind her, and he fiercely pins his eyes on the Uchiha while one of his arms snakes around Sakura. He holds her close to his chest and whispers something into her ear, causing the weight on Sasuke's chest to grow.

She does not recognize him. Her eyebrows are drawn together in confusion. Her lips curled up in disdain. It is as if Sasuke was looking right at his female teammate but at the same time he cannot see her. She's not there. The real Sakura, the one he has grown to love and appreciate, is far gone and all that remains is the vessel that is her body.

His breathing hardens, and then he starts heaving. Sasuke keeps his head up as he watches Indra tighten his hold on Sakura's waist, her willingness to let him touch her, and their departure on the flying elephant. The creature lets out one last noise before flying off, but by the time that they are out of Sasuke's peripheral view, his vision becomes blurry and he can taste the blood in his mouth.

"Sasuke!"

Though his ears are not picking up enough sound, that voice is familiar enough for him to recognize it anywhere. Sasuke does not realize that he is losing consciousness until he feels the weight of his body being lifted up by Naruto, who continues repeating his name like a mantra and tries to keep him awake. A number of curse words find their way into Naruto's exclamations as well, or at least that is what Sasuke believes he is hearing.

A breeze slides through his bangs, drying up the blood that has vomited from his mouth, as Naruto picks up him and takes him far away from the scene of their battle. His eyes are not fully closed, letting him decipher that they are not near the ground either. Sasuke feels heavy, weak, impotent. This is the second time he becomes weak after watching Indra take Sakura away from him.

And once again, his heart shatters into little pieces.

Her fingers are laced together, preventing her trembling from becoming too noticeable while Airvata flies them back to the castle. Sakura gets lost in a storm of thoughts, still not able to register the unfolding of events she had just experienced.

How dare they attack her king of gods!?

Sakura's jaw tenses at this question. Her beloved Indra, one who has suffered so much in the past, being attacked by unknown forces. And she does not even know why. Hence, her mind traces back to the beginning of it all.

She immediately knew something was off; Indra never leaves her side without saying where he goes. He usually announces that he is creating more land in this reality, aiming to create a perfect world for the two of them and their future family. Seeing that he had left without a reason was the first alert she recognized.

The second was when she felt the ground shake with an earthquake like intensity. Sakura knew that her beloved was in trouble immediately, and did not think twice before summoning Airvata and heading off to aid Indra.

Who are they, anyway?

First, there was a man as bright as the sun who decided to follow her into Indra's fight after she sensed that the one sleeping beside her was a shadow clone. He called out her name with a familiarity that is too foreign to her. Where does he come from? How does he know her name? Sakura's priority was to help Indra, and any question she had in regards to the strange bright man were pushed to the back of her mind.

Then, when she arrived at the battlefront, she was witness to two gigantic, purple flame covered humanoid creatures who were causing seismic sensations on the ground and ocean. She recognized that Indra was engulfed in one of these humanoid creatures, and he was using it as an armour against an opponent with a similar technique.

Sakura knew exactly what she had to do. Charging enough chakra in her fist, she flew Airvata and jumped close enough to Indra's opponent to land a hard hit on his chest and send him deep into the ground, creating cracks and craters along the beach and a cloud of dust large enough to reach her mid-air. She let all of her fury out with that punch, livid at the fact that someone was attacking Indra without a reason.

However, once the cloud of dust dissipated and Indra's opponent seemed to register what has happened, Sakura was once again met with the unexpected.

She furrowed her brow in confusion at the face that looked up at her from the ground, and the mismatched pair of eyes she met were extraordinarily familiar. So much that she felt a pang in her chest, one filled with nostalgia. It hurt her head and her heart. Her body seemed to react as well; it was as if her hands had let go of an entity with the same pair of eyes long ago and the sensation still lingered in her skin. Her ears only picked up the sound of her beating heart, completely ignoring whatever it was that Indra whispered in her ear before departing.

She wonders what that must have been. However, she does not have the time to delve into her thoughts before Indra snakes his arm around her and orders Airvata to take them back to the castle.

The face she saw, she knows it from somewhere. Sakura cannot pinpoint the origin, but a range of emotions manifest within her when she thinks about that black hair, uneven eyes, pointed nose and strong jaw line. They bring a wave of hollowness into her heart, close to the one she felt before she truly accepted her fate with Indra.

Her hands still tremble. The more she thinks about it, the harder it is to keep her body from reacting to the stranger she had just seen. Him and his companion (at least Sakura thinks that they have come together) are the first two outsiders she sees in this place aside from herself and Indra. That raises another thousand questions.

"Indra-san, who are they?" Sakura finds herself asking him. They arrive back to the castle safely, without looking back at the disaster left by their confrontation with those two strange opponents.

She is confused, and Indra knows that it can be a problem in the future. He never wanted Sakura to see her old teammates, but it seems that his plan is still set in motion since she does not recognize them. As long as they remain distant from the castle for two days, then Indra will no longer have to worry about their presence.

The Uchiha brat will not be able to survive in this dimension. It is Indra's own world, one that his chakra has created from the smallest rock to the largest mountain. It is impossible for Sasuke to survive in this environment, it will suck out all of the remaining life he has left to live. Asura's reincarnation will not be an issue once Sasuke is gone; he and Sakura will be able to defeat him in no time.

But for now, Indra has to ensure that Sakura remains in the castle until her twentieth day of birth. And in order to do so, he must prevent her from seeing those two hindrances in the near future.

Indra softly holds on to her cheeks, lifting her face until he can fully look into her eyes. "They are nothing to worry about. Just worthless men who believe they can get in between us."

WooAAAOoo! The final reunion! We're reaching the last leg of this story and the response it's gotten has been overwhelming. I cannot thank you enough for reading and encouraging me to keep writing. This is all for you, dear readers.

I know this chapter is more action heavy, and I do not have enough experience with that genre so I apologize in advance if it gets a bit confusing! I listen to alot of Uverworld while writing this chapter. However, the one song that sticks out to me when Sakura and Sasuke finally see one another is called "Hay cosas que no se rompen" by Camila Moreno, a Chilean artist (shout out to the Hispanic readers!).

We still have Indra trying to deceive Sakura and convince her that she is her rightful place. How will that play out now that Sasuke is short in time and only has two days left to save her? (Mind you, he doesn't know that yet) Will she need any saving? Is Asura coming back?

Tune in for next time! I will do my best to update ASAP, but the following weeks will be packed with a lot of things. Thanks for sticking around!

Sincerely,

MSM