Now

Sakura stares at her reflection.

Her green eyes are the brightest. Her pale skin glows with the beams of sunlight that sneak into her bedroom behind her silk curtains. Her lips are a soft pink, the same colour as her long hair. Her tresses hang loosely around her. Indra likes her this way, with her hair unattended and naturally falling on her shoulders, past her back and closer to her knees.

She runs the tips of her delicate fingers on the fabric that covers her body. The kimono, a combination of intricate red, pink and white patterns, is the best one she has ever worn in all of her lives. Sakura revisits all of her previous marriages, the ones that happened in her past lifetimes with Iootndra. She always wore the best of fabrics, her hair was always tied in an elaborate style. This would be the first time that she is as Indra truly wanted her to be.

Pure. Honest. Real.

Just her.

The only reminder of her life as a kunoichi from Konoha is the purple diamond that adorns her forehead. It is a memento she will never lose. It will become her own legacy in the family that she and Indra will build in this world. Their offspring will be strong, resilient, ready to fight for the eternity of their love.

Today is the day. Enough moons have set and enough suns have risen. She feels twenty, and with a burden greater than that of being a child soldier. But that does not matter. This uncomfortable weight on her shoulders is fitting, just as the kimono she will use to walk down the path of vows with her promised. This burden is just a responsibility, and one she knows she can carry.

Sakura raises her left hand to adjust the powder on her face. She has been looking at her reflection yet she did not notice that there was a single tear running down her left eye, smudging her makeup. She wipes it away and fixes the trail that was marked down her cheek. She then fixes her hair, symmetrically parted in the middle.

After today, this room will be officially hers and Indra's. He will no longer have to depart in the middle of the night to give her privacy and respect. They will share everything, from happiness to anger. Their marriage will blossom once again, and this time it will bloom into what it was supposed to be.

He will help her carry this weight. He will lift it off of her shoulders when it is too heavy to bear.

Sakura looks at her vanity and picks up the ornament that Indra made for her a couple of days ago. It silver and decorated with cherry blossoms, a shade so close to her hair colour that it might blend in too well to notice that it's there. Indra went out of his way to prepare for this ceremony, even though the only audience will be the two of them. Her beloved truly wants to start a life from the right track.

She places the ornament on her head, adjusting it until it looks perfect. She continues to stare at herself in the mirror for another moment.

This is the right decision. Indra is all she has left. She will give him sons and daughters, they will be happy and live for all eternity with one another. Nothing bad will happen in this world. No pain will come and hurt her heart. No more visions of red and purple eyes. No more black hair, smell of smoke, deep voices, the sensation of travelling for endless days.

Sakura should be happy and grateful. She should feel like this is the right choice.

But if it is, then why does this burden not leave her?

Naruto just sent twelve of his clones to infiltrate the castle. They wait for an hour -the longest wait Sasuke has ever felt- until the future Hokage tells him that the path is clear.

They grab all of their weapons and set off. Sasuke still does not fully understand how they can go undetected in Indra's dimension right now, as Naruto failed to coherently explain how Kurama's chakra is currently protecting them from getting caught by the Ōtsutsuki.

It does not matter, Sasuke's mind it too preoccupied about other things to worry about such details. His attention is fully concentrated in the castle that appears in the horizon. Luckily, Naruto can match up to his speed and they both arrive to the steps of the castle in mere seconds.

"I know it sounds weird coming from me, but you gotta keep your head focused on this," Naruto nudges him. "If you fuck this up, we might lose her for good and I'm never gonna forgive you."

Sasuke scoffs. "Same with you."

At this point, Sasuke feels that he and Naruto would be losing an equal amount of love for Sakura if their plan fails. They are a three cell team. A team that has gone through hell, faced the creator of chakra herself, and survived. It has been a while since Sasuke has let emotions like these get in between him and his mission, and he definitely needs to keep himself in check to avoid any mistakes.

But there is something about this plan that won't go well. He knows it, and Naruto can guess it too. It does not matter, so long as they get Sakura away from Indra.

"Alright, let's get this shit started." Naruto jumps forward and Sasuke follows soon after.

"My love."

She turns around and finds Indra standing outside of her door. He looks grand, regal. The long white robes that cover his body gracefully touch the floor, making him appear as a character taken out of a folk tale. He sort of is, Sakura muses. His legendary name comes with a legendary story and physique. There is a black rope tied around his waist, and the hilt of his sword sits on his left side.

Indra extends his hand to his promised. There are no words that can describe how beautiful Sakura looks in that precise moment. Her eyes emit the same sort of innocence that entranced him all those centuries ago. Her lips are soft, pink, welcoming. The pink hair that flows through her shoulders and down her back is neatly brushed, yet it reminds him of the purity of a cherry blossom's tree branches.

Sakura takes his hand, her soft skin soothing the impatience in his heart. They are so close, almost to the point of being fully one once again.

They silently step out of her bedchambers and make their way down the castle. The temple is on the opposite side of Sakura's room, and Indra attempts to solely focus on the steps he has to take without being blown away by her beauty.

He can already see them, their future children, running around in the endless corridors of his castle. Its dark corridors will be filled with children's laughter. Corners that were never explored will serve as the shelter to their future offspring. Indra will finally be able to give his children the life they deserved. The tragic fates of their first triplets still haunt him, adding to the pain of existing for so long without his beloved wife. He will be a good father, a good clan leader, and a good husband.

The entrance to the temple is lit up by a calm fire that dances on a pole on each side. They enter to an empty shrine. It does not matter, Indra assures himself, that no one will bear witness to the rebirth of their marriage. After all, there only needs to be two parties involved in his union. The gods and his grandmother Kaguya are watching from the afterlife. And all he needs is the flesh and blood that runs through his veins and gives his heart life.

The shrine, adorned with colourful beads and engravings that symbolise the Uchiha, is almost as tall as Indra. He catches Sakura looking up at it, taking in its simple magnificence with her beautiful green eyes. This is the first time she is inside the temple in his castle, having been forbidden from entering it until she becomes a full and official member of his one-man clan.

There is a small bowl filled with a clear liquid set in the middle of the shrine. It is the drink that will unite them in eternity. The drink that will fusion their future together, as the first pair of the new Uchiha clan.

Sakura kneels beside Indra and they bow as a sign of respect to the shrine. She may be imagining things, but she feels like the chakra of all their deceased offspring were witnesses to their union. It is a strange, yet still welcoming feeling. As if the legacy they created agreed to their reunion as husband and wife. She tries to pinpoint if her late children are among the chakras that bear witness to their union, but is interrupted by a slight nudge.

"Sakura, it is your turn," Indra announces with a low voice. His dark eyes quickly travel around the temple before settling back on Sakura's face. He must be aware of their invisible guests as well, for he appears to be looking at physical figures that Sakura cannot see.

She finally notices the cup on Indra's hand, extended towards her as an offering. Sakura stares at the clear liquid, her official union into the clan that she has always dreamed of being a part of. If only she had known that her past life was the other half that created the Uchiha when she was younger. Sakura feels an itch in the back of her head, buried beneath the ritual of reuniting with her past love, hidden away, blocked by a wall that prevents her heart from feeling pain. It may be the combination of chakra in this room, of this childhood fantasy of hers, but the face of another dark haired man appears behind her eyes.

The cup is already on her hands, and its contents form little waves by the slight tremble in her hands. Sakura pushes that face to the back of her mind, to her he belongs, and tries to focus on the present. Her body tenses underneath the layers of fabric. If she was standing, her knees would be giving out at this point. Indra intensely stares at her, expecting her acceptance of the sake.

Don't come into my mind now, please.

I need to do this.

He is the one I am destined to be with.

Sakura almost chokes with the sake that flows down her throat. It was a brusque movement, she knows. Sake runs down her chin after she is finished drinking in, the burning sensation muffling the pain she feels in her heart after the warm liquid settles in her stomach. She attempts to unceremoniously wipe the sake from her chin with her sleeve, but before she regains her power to move, Indra cups her cheeks and kisses her lips.

It is a chaste kiss. The one she always expected to get after her wedding ceremony. She also dreamed of hearing a round of applause and cheers from her friends and family, yet their union is met with silence.

That is, until she hears a noise coming from the entrance.

At first he almost does not recognize her. Her face is covered in powder, making her look like a porcelain doll covered in layers of exquisite fabric. Her hair, straight and painting her back like a waterfall, has never been that long. Sasuke feels his heart drop to the ground as he watches their lips connect. Sakura has that expression, the one she puts before she would kiss him, full on yearning and affection. Witnessing her share that sort of emotion with someone else, someone like Indra out of all people, almost destroys the very last living cells in his organism.

She doesn't know what she is doing, he tries to convince himself. His real hand trembles on the hilt of his sword, and he has to control the rest of his body to not give into shock.

Naruto lightly nudges him, taking his attention away from the couple and to their own plan. He glares at Sasuke with that determination that is only seen in dire situations. At this point, they both understand that the rational head in this mission is Naruto, though Sasuke is quite certain that his best friend also felt a pang in his chest when Sakura kissed Indra.

But it's impossible to focus now. The damage is done. He just witnessed the symbolic departure of his only hope, his only chance of having a normal home. Sakura gave herself to Indra, voluntarily or by force. It does not matter. The pain is still there and it's burning his flesh at this point. And regardless of how much Sasuke's consciousness tells him to wait out and execute their plan as he and Naruto discussed it, his hand has already grabbed his sword and he steps into view.

"Sasuke, no!"

Naruto's voice is silenced as he steps into the temple and catches the attention of the reunited couple. Sakura's hands drop the cup, creating a clattering sound that echoes through the bare walls.

Her green eyes widen when they lay on him. Sasuke can feel the intensity of the range of emotions that must be travelling through Sakura's body in that moment. He feels them too. Nostalgia, sadness, a hint of hope, shock, disbelief. She looks so beautiful in that moment, so strong and yet so lost.

Indra's initial shock quickly turns into a deadly glare. He must be boiling at the sight of his reincarnation in his castle. Of course he would, Sasuke's mind reminds him. If it wasn't for Kurama's chakra they would have been caught. Sasuke would have been long dead if his chakra had been fully sucked into this world. But there is one thing Indra did not learn from his last life, and that Naruto and Sasuke accomplish their goal regardless of the means to achieve it.

"Fuck," Naruto mutters under his breath. It is not common for him to be the voice of reason in his team. He must somehow stick to their plan even if Sasuke decided to mess it all up last minute. Naruto scans the room, noticing the space that separates Indra from Sakura and calculates his next move.

Sasuke, on the other hand, goes straight for the offensive. He activates his Rinnegan and aims for the shrine. In a flickering move, the altar appears where he was standing. He aims for Indra's back, but the Ōtsutsuki is quick enough to dodge his attack with his own sword. The clanking of metals resonate in the ancient room, and it continues as Sasuke cuts through thin air and Indra evades.

Naruto takes his opportunity and sprints until he is beside Sakura, grabs her by the arm, and says, "You and I are getting outta 'here, Sakura-chan."

He tries to not be affected by the look of confusion in his teammate's eyes.

"Who are you!?"

Or by those painful words.

"Save the talk for later. Let's go!"

He takes the chance of her incredulity to drag her out of the temple. Naruto knows best not to do this when Sakura is fully conscious, for she would instantly mutilate him with her fist. Instead of using her brute, raw force, Sakura tries to wiggle her arm out of Naruto's grip. She also tries to slow down their quick steps by looking back at the room they exited and by yelling Indra's name.

"Let me go! I have to go back and help Indra!"

They are already heading towards the terrace Naruto and Sasuke used to climb into the castle. He does not look back, he does not want to place an image to the wrecking noises that come from Sasuke and Indra's battle.

"No you don't! Let's go, Sakura-chan!"

"Don't say my name like you know me!"

BOOM!

Naruto finally looks back and sees a cloud of dust at the other end of the hall. He activates his Sage mode, and is slightly relieved when he spots Sasuke's chakra amid the debris.

Slightly relived, that is, for he knows that his best friend's chakra is gradually declining.

"Sorry, kiddo. I can't help him out with this one," Kurama's voice rumbles in his subconscious.

The booming sound continues as he and Sakura escape from the crumbling hall. He senses how the pillars that have held this castle for centuries are cracking and starting to fall. Naruto coves Sakura's head with his arm when a large piece almost falls on them, but his heroic action is dismissed by his former teammate. She extends her fist upwards and pulverizes the piece of rubble into thin dust.

Naruto widens his eyes, already imagining how this is going to go.

"Let me go back!" Sakura screams as she places her free hand on Naruto's arm. He can sense the familiar strength and chakra flowing through her veins. Yes, underneath all this grandeur, his other best friend is still there.

"I can't, I'm sorry."

"I said," crack! Naruto screams out in pain as Sakura twists his arm and fractures, "I am going back, Naruto."

"Wha- Sakura-chan! You remember me!?"

"There's no time!"

She takes a last look at Naruto, who glows with orange flames, before picking up the ends of her robe and running back to the place they left.

"W-wait!"

Sakura sees blue and purple flames ablaze, yet she continues to run. The walls that separated the hall from all the different rooms in the castle collapse as she nears her destination. The sense of urgency does not leave her system; adrenaline keeps pumping in her veins and she must make it there before the worst happens. She thinks of names, of faces, of feelings that were kept hidden away for a lifetime.

And then she wonders where she belongs in that mixture.

Sasuke can feel it.

His Susano'o is not at full strength or height. Indra towers over him, and he curses himself for thinking that he could take his ancestor down using his own chakra. Fuck his stubbornness, he should have learned years ago that it would be the death of him. Yet his Susano'o wields his sword with all its might and power. He is not going down without a fight.

He knew this was going to happen. He and Naruto knew that this could be one of the outcomes, and he accepts the consequences as long as Sakura returns to Konoha in one piece, safe and sound.

The castle that Indra built in his dimension is being demolished by their powerful battle. This may be the last time he gets to fight another Uchiha, one who carries the same level of prowess as Sasuke himself. And though it is Indra, the ancient man who took away his new home, Sasuke cannot ignore the honour that it is to finalize his life with a battle against another Susano'o.

Indra does not change the smug expression on his face. He knows Sasuke's destiny just as Sasuke does. The Ōtsutsuki strikes a fierce blow with his own sword, hitting Sasuke's Susano'o in the shoulder and sending him flying across the castle.

Sasuke's flames begin to fade as the physical pain settles in his body. He tries to open his eyes without feeling disoriented, but can only see faint lines in the darkness. A familiar sensation travels up his system, and then he is coughing blood as he clutches his chest. He cannot stand up, his knees have given out and soon will the rest of his body. Sasuke continues to cough as he covers his mouth with his artificial hand. The bandages are smearing in blood, his own blood.

He feels weak, helpless, yet ready for the consequences. Sasuke just hopes that Naruto and Sakura are long gone by now. He cannot sense them with the little chakra left in his body, and now he can only rely on his own intuition.

Then he hears a set of steps coming his way.

Sakura does not know why she started to panic when that young man interrupted her ceremony with Indra. They had just become an official unit, yet the sudden appearance of those mismatched eyes was like an attack to her heart and emotions and she could only freeze. It is the same man that has filled her mind since she last saw him. The same man who attacked Indra all those moons ago.

And the same one that she tried so hard to forget. But looking at him, standing there with the same air as he had always had since they were children, brought a bittersweet reminder. It was as if she was looking at two Indras, two chakras of the same source but with a different vessel. And Sakura felt confused, lost, uncertain of the decision she had just taken.

Then the man's companion, the blond, grabs her arm and takes her away from her husband with claims that they need to escape. And she keeps on panicking, yelling out for Indra, trying to somehow return to his side. But they continued running and she continued fighting back, until something about the blond man clicked in her mind and she just remembered.

It might have been his voice, or his actions, but she just knew that the man who had dragged her away from Indra was Naruto and Naruto mean security. Then everything else slowly started to make sense in her mind as she ran back to the temple where she and Indra renewed their vows. And she saw the flames, blue and purple, and felt scared.

Scared because now she knows who that strange man was.

Scared because she does not know what to do.

She finds them, far away from the remains of the temple and of the crumbling castle. Sasuke is on his knees, spilling blood from his mouth and every limb. He looks so weak and so helpless, so ready to die. Indra stands strong on his two feet, his wedding attire torn at the sleeves and the seams, with stains of blood and soil. His Sharingan is activated, and his right hand holds his sword as he takes slow steps towards his opponent.

Sasuke's eyes begin to flicker and his head tilts forward until it hits the ground.

And all the memories and emotions flow right back into her. Sakura remembers. She remembers the pain that Sasuke felt growing up, the tragedy behind Indra's life story the origins of the Uchiha, her past life. She remembers her own confusion and suffering at the hands of the Uchiha in her current and past lives.

"You and Sasuke are meant to be together! It's destiny! This is your old life telling you to stay with Indra but you fell in love with Sasuke!" the young man yells her as he catches up, shaking her shoulders in despair. Sakura can see the tears flowing out of those blue eyes, eyes that look so familiar. It's Naruto.

She remembers her strong connection to Konoha, her friendship with Ino and the girls, her unconditional dedication to the hospital and her team.

More importantly, she remembers the love she feels for Uchiha Sasuke, the boy who captured her attention in childhood. That love persisted through the toughest time of their lives, through war, travelling, separation. Sakura never stopped loving him, no matter how much it hurt at times.

And so Sakura does what she does best for the people she loves.

Just as Indra is about to strike his final blow to Sasuke, she runs with all of her might and stands in between them.

Happy New Year lovely readers! Thank you for all your support, fanart, alerts, favourites and reviews.

See you next time!

Sincerely,

MSM