Tasting Flesh

by XBrokenxDollsX

AU- She belongs to him, as it was chosen by the gods themselves. She can not escape of what her fate is; she can't escape from him. Because, if she wants to live another day, she must accept her curse. A meal to the Demon Gods and a target to other supernatural beings, she has no choice but to become the Demon God's bride./SasuSaku

19. Chapter 19

Tumblr is getting so much fun xD Everyone is so awesome in giving me challenging prompts and stuff, and I even got 10 followers after my first day D: How does that work? I even got to meet SasuSaku Forever and Ever for a moment *-* She's so coool! Go and read her stories please, she's simply talented and worth your time. Anyway, if anyone wants a request or prompt, you can go onto the link on my profile and put it into my Ask Box c: I won't be on Tumblr all the time, but I will try to fufill your wishes the best I can. Patience is always rewarding, right? You know I love all you guys and I like making people's day sometimes c:

Special thanks to those amazing lovers and haters; you all deserve a yummy cupcake, you know? I'm making a big batch right now and I will send everyone their personal cupcake xD 'Cause everyone loves cupcakes!

Remember that you are allowed to Review, Follow, Favorite or do nothing with this story in my opinion. Anything that you do will make me a happy camper, and it's summer, so let's get camping! Have fun!

=xxx=

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The dead don't tell secrets.

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Because, as you know, the dead can not talk to the living...

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But, if you were in my shoes, you would have support.

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You have a voice, and someone who is going to listen to you...

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That is my only benefit of being a dead Forbidden Flower.

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Tasting Flesh

Chapter Eighteen

Rin was shaking as she leaned against the dark tree inside Sakura's conscience. The dead world that she was trapped in for about ten years was now coming to get her and show her what can happen when you hold everything in. After she confessed her reasoning of what she did, she pushed Sakura away, cried out in misery and then took refuge by digging her pale skin against the tree as Sakura watched carefully, unmoving and quiet.

Clad in the bloody-red cloak, Rin fought with the fabric to stick her hands out, grabbing onto the frozen bark as she clawed her stress into it. Nothing showed her pressured emotion on te tree, but the sound of nails scraping a scratchy surface raked through the unliving world. Her tears kept coming as she bit her bottom lip as hard as she could, and if she wanted, she could have been bleeding from her nails and lip.

But she was dead, and trapped in a frozen time.

Witnessing this paranormal behavior of her considered guide, Sakura crawled a little bit closer to Rin and took a spot infront of her, staying calm and cool in her features. Gently, Sakura reached with her hands and pressed them against Rin's exposed knees, rubbing comfortingly to her ghostly friend.

"Rin-chan," Sakura spoke in whispers, "it's okay... Just tell me what happened, ne?"

'You're not mad?' Rin's telepathy reached Sakura, she still bit down on her lip in what looked to be very painful. She didn't look like she could feel it though.

"I can't be mad at someone who did something way before I was born," Sakura shrugged lightly. "Besides...if whatever you did didn't happen, I wouldn't be here talking to you and finding closure for you."

'Closure?' Rin questioned with a shiver.

Sakura nodded. "Whatever you did in the past, it is shaping the present and it will affect the future, if you think about it. Maybe, if you confess to me, the current Forbidden Flower, I can forgive you when you can't. I'm technically you, aren't I?"

"But..." Rin blubbered a sob, which was silenced when Sakura smiled.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you, Rin-chan," Sakura said sweetly, venturing closer as she took Rin's matching hand into her own and holding it gently. "But now, I can understand how you feel on being stuck, and I want to help you. I want to help you, like you are trying to help me."

Rin stared wonderingly at the young woman, feeling her tears swell down to nothing as she gripped Sakura's hand back in slight-confidence. She nodded and curled closer to Sakura to the point that their foreheads pressed together, like sisters, and Sakura gradually reached with her other hand to pet Rin's tearstained face.

"Show me what happened in the past, Rin-chan," Sakura whispered encouragingly. "And, I promise, I will listen."

Rin closed her eyes, taking all her energy in this stilled world and swarmed it with tanned sand. Drowning Sakura and herself into it into the past; the past she ruined in her lifetime and perished the most regrettable sin she could ever think of herself of doing.

"Are we there yet?" an all-too familiar voice distracted both of Rin and Sakura, turning their heads to find themselves in a ghosted forest. Everything was misty-like, almost melting, but the two figures of reconizable people could be pinpointed out of the mushy mess. Holding onto each others hand, both girls stood from their crouched positions to see Rin with long, brown hair, a bright smile on her face as a slightly-younger Kakashi carried her on his back, arms hooking under Rin's dress.

Smiling bigger, the past Rin combed her delicate fingers through Kakashi's hair. "Come on, Kakashi-kun, are we there yet?"

The eighteen-year-old-looking Demon smiled under his mask as he bent his head away from her. "You know, being an eighteen-year-old, you sure act like a little infant when excited."

"Well, I'm desperate to see the place where you grew up, Kakashi-kun!" Rin whimpered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her front to his back. Her cheeks tinted into an old-sepia blush as Sakura watched calmly of how affectionate Rin was in the past to Kakashi. "You tell me many stories, but I really want to see it..."

"And you will, Rin-hime," Kakashi teased as his only visible eye widened with a youthful-joy. Inhaling big, Kakashi's chest expanded as he hurried his steps into running. Sakura and Rin did not need to move to follow them, however, as Rin's past carried them through the wooden forest and into an opening.

Sakura reconized it as the Uchiha Compound, without the wall in sight of protection. She looked around to see the palace as the same as it ever was in the present; however the smaller houses were more handmade and less tolerant to mass family capacities. Turning her head back to Kakashi and Rin in her past, the occupants in the courtyard instantly reconized the grey-haired Demon and gasped.

"Kakashi is back!"

"Someone alert of the King and Prince; they must hurry!"

"Welcome home, Kakashi-sama!"

The younger Kakashi grinned under his mask as he gently set Rin upon her feet, allowing her to look around with a quick head before grabbing Kakashi's arm, pressing herself as close as possible to him for comfort. The Demon, however, smiled down at her and guided her into the middle of the courtyard, allowing other Demons to crowd around them and say greetings to Kakashi and also get a glimpse of the Forbidden Flower.

"Give Rin-hime space, my friends," Kakashi beckoned gently to the other Demons, who giggled in response and took a few steps back from them, revealing the approaching body of a tall man, similar to Fugaku's giant height, long, black hair that spiked in the back and had semi-tanned skin. His eyes were black as night, Sakura noticed, and his expressions seemed cold and unwanting any attention.

But, when the tall man halt ten feet infront of Kakashi and hiding Rin, his lips parted and eyes widened. Looking like a father who was reuniting with his long-lost son.

"Kakashi..." the man mumbled through the dead silence of the crowd. "My son..!"

'Is that Madara?' Sakura questioned with her own telepathy to Rin, who nodded and squeezed her hand in response.

Kakashi didn't stop himself from leaving Rin's side for a minute to embrace Madara in the royal hug, so similar to when Obito and Kakashi bound themselves into brotherhood. Madara granted his own request to cradle the back of Kakashi's head as he squished him to his chest. Some of the Demons around them sighed with respect, others 'aww'-ed or giggled in joy at the reunited King to his adopted son. Rin, who stood still where Kakashi left her, tilted her head with a dreamy smile on her lips. Her eyes soft as she watched Madara hold Kakashi's head close to his.

"Welcome home, my son," Madara greeted with a manly was all too familiar to Sakura on a certain chicken-butt man.

Kakashi chuckled and bowed his head to his father-figure before looking back to Rin, who was waiting patiently. He smiled and called her over with a 'psst' noise and a wave, causing her to perk and dash over into his arms as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Father, I wish for you to meet Nohara Rin, the Forbidden Flower the past Demon Gods told you about," Kakashi introduced Rin as she shyly glanced up to Madara, who smirked handsomely when she bowed her head with hesitance.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet my child's bride," Madara bowed back with a deep bent of his head, causing others to gasp in surprise of the King to be so royally-respectful to a mere Human-born creature. "My home is your home, Forbidden Flower."

'Madara-sama was very respectful towards me,' Rin confessed in her mind to Sakura, who was questioning his behavior in the back of her head but was not expecting an answer. 'I was very grateful that the man who took Kakashi-kun into his home was so polite to me... But, now that I see it, I believe he was in it for his other child.'

'You mean-?'

"Kakashi!" An unfamiliar voice of a young man stopped Sakura from saying who she thought it was, looking down behind Madara to see a running male Demon with spikey black hair and a large grin. Once infront of his father, Uchiha Obito stopped to breathe heavily as he assest his companion's overall growth in the past years.

"Obito," Kakashi teased as he tilted his head. "It seems to be that I have grown two-inches taller then you..."

"Kakashi," Obito's eye twitched. "Remember who is the oldest here!"

"That would be Father," Kakashi pointed with his eye, causing Madara to roar a laugh as other Demons joined in. Slowly, Kakashi rest his hand on Rin's shoulder, who was staring blankly at Obito, as he snapped Obito's attention.

"Obito, I would like to introduce you to Nohara Rin," Kakashi said in a gentlemen-manner as Rin's cheeks flushed deep and she pressed herself close to Kakashi's side, clinging a fist to his shirt. "She has been dreaming of seeing where you and I grew up and made messes together, and meeting the two people who gave me a life to live: Obito, I want you to meet the Forbidden Flower and your future bride."

Rin and Obito's eyes met for the first time and Sakura saw two completely different reactions: Obito, who was taller then Rin, drowning in the beauty Rin possessed as his eyes softened greatly to the point that he looked lovestrucked and drunk on her appearance. Rin, on the other hand, didn't look interested with Obito's to-die-for looks or return the smile he gave her as he bowed his head to her. In total honesty, Sakura found no affection from Rin towards this Uchiha Obito.

'You knew that you were to marry Obito, right?' Sakura questioned when the scene melted as Rin in the past buried her face into Kakashi's arm when Obito offered her his hand to guide her into the palace. Her emerald eyes scanned Rin's cool expression, looking unbothered by the collected memory.

'Yes, I did... But I never believed that Kakashi would just hand me over to him, and that Kakashi loved me like I wanted to believe,' Rin sighed in her mind. 'When I figured out the past Demon Gods saying of Madara's youngest son, I tried to tell Kakashi, but...'

The setting formed into a more darker time, like it was night, and Rin was strolling quickly with a beaming smile on her face. Her hair flowing like chocolate waves in her white nightgown as she made it outdoors of the Uchiha palace, looking around quickly for the grey-haired Demon to confess the feeling that Sakura could feel on the inside. Rin in the past embraced the night with a gleeful laugh as she took off down the hill towards the training field, knowing that Kakashi would just be there for her to run into his arms and enjoy a romatic moment in the moonlight.

Entering the Training Field for the Uchiha and nobles, Rin could easily make out Kakashi's silver hair in the moonlight. She was about to scream his name and run to him, but instantly stopped in her tracks, her heart stopping in her chest just as Sakura felt the same. Squeezing Rin's hand, Sakura watched as Rin encountered Kakashi with his arms wrapped around a woman - Shizune, in dark clothing, as she was holding Kakashi's exposed face. Sakura could make out the numerous scars and the Sharingan sparkling in the dark when the Demon woman smiled sweetly.

Falling into hiding, Rin watched with wide eyes as Shizune's gentle fingers brushed across his thin, scarred lips. She could hear Shizune's shy voice speaking in the dark. "You don't need to hide them from me, Kakashi-kun... Scars don't mean anything to me; I focus on what you hold on the inside."

Rin gripped her own chest as tears swelled in her eyes, hearing Kakashi sigh softly as he cuddled his cheek into Shizune's palm. "My past is not... I was not raised right, Shizune. I'm not right for you..!"

"Then why not mend your present and guide yourself to a better future?" Shizune whispered as Rin watched her hands slide down Kakashi's biceps, causing Rin's torture to excelate when her own love pressed his forehead upon Shizune's, and his nose just barely touching hers. "Under all your doubt, Kakashi-kun, you have already done wonderful things: you brought Obito-sama his bride, which you raised and adored her whole life, and brought her to where she belongs..."

"Yeah..." Kakashi nodded in agreement, Rin falling back against the tree as she gripped her long hair. She wanted it all to be a nightmare. "I loved Rin like my own family; she reminded me so much of my own mother... I just want her to be happy."

"Then be mine. Then be mine," Rin chanted under her breath, none of it heard by Kakashi or Shizune as tears fell. "Kakashi-kun...no, I love you. Listen to me..!"

Sakura watched as Shizune smiled and held Kakashi's face with both hands. "You are a good man, Kakashi-kun. You're the man I fell in love with when Obito-sama brought you home, all dirty and an attitude of an angry Demon woman - and you developed everyday to the point that my heart could jump out of my chest and make me cry on how much I loved you."

Rin's chest silently heaved up and down. "But...I love Kakashi-kun when he came into my home," Rin whimpered sadly, her chocolate eyes watching as Kakashi's unshed tears slipped and Shizune only affectionately wiped them away with her thumbs. "But she...she knew Kakashi longer then I. D-Does that mean...I don't matter?"

The setting changed around Sakura and Rin, to which Sakura had to close her eyes to take on the overwhelming feeling of guilt and heartbreak as the outside world changed to a bedroom inside the Uchiha palace. Rin was sitting upon her bed, scissor-like utensils at hand, as she snipped her long hair into a very short length of her chin. Her eyes were sparkly, but the feeling of happiness was nowhere to be seen.

'I'm sorry you have to see this, Sakura,' Rin said as she leaned her head against Sakura's, closing her eyes as her counterpart watched with careful eyes. 'After that...I was so heartbroken by Kakashi-kun.'

The shouji door opened and Kakashi came in with glow of the heavens until he saw Rin's situation. "Rin! What are you doing to your hair?" he gasped as he pulled the cutting-utensil out of her hand, which was too late to snip the last of her long hair.

Rin's eyes looked at Kakashi, seeing how worried and shocked he was, she smiled sweetly. "I'm trying something new, Kakashi-kun," she explained as she fluffed her new style. "Do you like it? I figured it would be a nice change and impress the Uchiha Clan."

Slowly, Kakashi sighed and offered a small smile in return. "You look lovely as ever, Rin-chan, but please do alert a servant to assist you if you wanted to get a haircut. You could've cut yourself or snipped your ear!"

Rin grinned bigger, her eyes sparkling more of a invisible sadness that went unseen by Kakashi. "Did you need me for something, Kakashi-kun..?"

"Aa, yes, I wanted to tell you some wonderful news, Rin-chan!" Kakashi chuckled as he got on one knee, holding Rin's hands in his hot ones, and Sakura could feel the twist of pain within Rin's chest as she watched her nibble her lip. Kakashi's only visible eyes sparkled with joy as she looked into her eyes with full honesty. "Rin-chan, I'm married..!"

Brown eyes blinking, Rin took a long moment to allow it to sink in, echoing around Sakura of Kakashi's voice saying 'I'm married..! I'm married..!' over and over. A breathy exhale came from Rin's lips as she closed her eyes and forced a smile. "R-really, Kakashi...-kun?"

"Yes, and we're having a part in honor of it. My father has set up the plans and everything," Kakashi sighed as he held her hands a bit tighter, causing Rin to reopen her eyes. "She's a wonderful woman, Rin-chan... I first met her when Obito brought be to the Uchiha Compound when I was a lad. You know how I was as a runt, getting into fights and trouble with the other kids. But Shizune-chan has never looked down upon me like the others did; she always helped me up and offered sancturary in her household without her parent's concent.

"Honestly, Rin-chan, I don't think I have ever been more in love in my whole life," Kakashi confessed, causing a painful jab right through Rin's heart as she stiffened and jerked back in utter shock. Kakashi looked up to Rin and smiled warmly under his mask to her. "I have to thank you, Rin-chan... If it wasn't for you, Obito wouldn't have found me in the forest; if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have met Shizune and my father and brother, nor would I have had the honor and pleasure to watch you grow up into a beautiful young woman who has made my life an adventure."

"Kakashi-kun..." Rin sobbed as a tear slipped through and dripped down her cheek. How bad she wanted to yell at him and hold him close and never let go.

Kakashi pulled Rin's hands to his masked mouth, pressing a blocked kiss on her fingers and knuckles. "Because of you, I can have a happy ending... I only wish that you will have a happy ending, too, Rin-chan. A wonderful being such as yourself will make a wonderful princess story coming true."

Kakashi looked back up to her, leaning up to press another masked kiss on her forehead and let Rin shut her eyes tight. "At the party, I want you and Obito to be there when I give a toast to all who have blessed me with love. You included, Rin-chan. My brother and future sister-in-law deserve a grand thanks infront of the royal family!"

Sakura watched as Rin sobbed and nodded shakingly, sobbing as she cried. Kakashi only gave her comfort for the unseen pain, seeing it as tears of happiness that Kakashi is wedded to a good match; he held her close and hushed her gentle lullabies like a man to a baby. When the scene was starting to melt away again, Sakura turned her head to the current Rin who was still resting her head upon her shoulder. Gently, Sakura reached with her free hand and stroked the chopped hair and listened to Rin sigh.

'I was so heartbroken...but I was so happy for him, too. It is such a confusing thing, a woman's heart,' Rin murmured in her thoughts as Sakura cuddled her temple against Rin's. The scene changed to the outdoors once more, although it was in the forest and Rin was walking with a straight back, donning her red cloak and nothing else underneath the blood-colored fabric. Her face was gentle, yet tears fell freely as she took more baresteps on the soft floor of the forest. 'Before I left, I ran into Shizune... She was wearing white that time, and looked like an angel. I asked her if she could keep a promise to me before I went out on my 'walk' before the party.

'She asked me what she could do for the Forbidden Flower, and I asked her to make sure that Kakashi will wake up everyday as a happy man, just as he deserves.' Rin opened her eyes and watched herself come to an edge of a clearing, dark and seemingly-deserted. 'She said that it would be the greatest thing to make the man who raised such a darling girl as happy as she could, and with that, I smiled and kissed her cheek. I told her I would be back before the party started, and don't tell Obito so he wouldn't be worried of time...and I end up here.'

'What is here, Rin-chan?' Sakura asked quietly as the past Rin removed her hood and exposed her porcelain body into the night's sky. The stars reflected like tiny lights on her bare belly and legs as she saw a bunch of shadows forming towards her.

'The place where I killed myself.'

"Mi'lady," a dark shadow hissed like a snake as he spoke lowly, "a fine creature such as the Forbidden Flower shouldn't be here in these woods...alone."

Without fear, the past of Rin looked deadon into the shadow's faces. "You are the Demons who starve, are you not?" she asked cooly, startling the shadows into confused growls and snarls.

"Forbidden Flower, I would feel pleased that you know of our kinds existence and occupation," the tallest shadow purred as it slauntered closer to Rin, who stood straight and unmoving in fright. "But, the curiosity of myself and my children...what is it that you seek?"

Turning her head, a fresh tear tell down Rin's cheek as she gave the brightest smile Sakura has seen since her arrival to the Uchiha Compound. "Give me my Happy Ending."

The Demon shadows jerked closer, but did not attack Rin as she exposed her hips, revealing the heart-shaped birthmark that Sakura shares with Rin and the previous Forbidden Flowers of their time. Rin's eyes softened as she reached out to the tall shadow, who's eyes narrowed in cautious moves.

"Give me my Happy Ending," Rin demanded in a soft voice as she bent her head back, exposing her bare neck into the moonlight. "My body... My flesh and blood. It is all yours for the taking..."

The scene and the people within in started to melt like ice, only Rin becoming the most solid thing as she whispered her last words as she shadow's claw-like hands reached from behind and groped her bare chest. A shrilling cry of hungry Demons echoed at the sepia-setting began to be stained red.

"Kill me."

Sakura let out a silent scream as she fell back into the grey-setting of her colorless mind, gasping for air as she was hovered by Rin's body, her brown eyes worried as she pets her successor's cheeks, hushing her with soothing hums. No tears fell out of the emerald eyes, fortunately, and Sakura sighed weakly as she held onto Rin's wrists for emotional support.

"I'm sorry," Rin spoke regrettably as she helped Sakura sit up, her head hanging in shame.

"That shadow...that was the one from my nightmare," Sakura breathed thick breaths. When Rin nodded, Sakura closed her eyes to catch her breath. "The shadow was a Demon who was a lowlife, and he took your body and ate it and then he got stronger then a Demon God."

"The party I was suppose to attend," Rin licked her lips, "had all the Demon God Clans and heros from far and wide to see Madara's youngest son married to a servant of the palace; and Obito was going to wed me that night, as I remember. The shadow Demon used my flesh and had himself and his followers to attack the Uchiha Compound, and go on to attacking other kingdoms to flames and bloodshed.

"I knew Demons wanted to eat me, but I did not know about my flesh granting power to those weak - and become stronger then the most powerful Demon God alive," Rin rubbed her sore eyes to refuse the tears to shed. "If I had known that, I would have slit my throat within my bedroom and have Obito-kun or Kakashi-kun find my body." Rin quickly added in to press onto Sakura's observation, "That shadow Demon wouldn't be alive by the time he attacked Sasuke-kun, if I haven't given my body to him!"

"You were depressed and you felt like the only person you loved was leaving your life forever... But Kakashi didn't return his feelings to you like the prophecy said he would," Sakura countered with an odd eye.

"If Kakashi is a Demon of his own mind, he is loyal to the family that took him in and gave him a home," Rin explained as she nibbled on her knuckle out of mere habit. "Both Madara-sama and Obito-kun believed that I was for Obito-kun, despite Madara-sama claiming Kakashi-kun as his own child. Kakashi is a few months younger then Obito, so he was technically the youngest son on the Uchiha Clan."

"Kakashi...he didn't want to disappoint his father and brother, did he?" Sakura pet Rin's other hand, watching her shake her head sorrowfully.

"I knew, in his heart somewhere, that Kakashi-kun loved me," Rin closed her eyes in a dreamy way. "But, he loved Madara and Obito more then his own life...and when Shizune exposed herself to be by Kakashi-kun's side, he forgot about the shame of having any feelings towards me and fell for Shizune on his own.

"Honestly, I am thankful that Shizune is giving him such a happy life," Rin cooed as she held both hers and Sakura's hand to her chest. "Shizune gave him much more love then I could've given him; and she gave him a daughter that he loves so much. After what I did, Shizune is rebuilding the family the Kakashi lost...twice. I could not be more thankful towards Shizune and how she kept her promise to me."

"But your heart still breaks," Sakura added in quietly.

Rin nodded. "That is why I am not with the rest of the Forbidden Flowers beyond your barriers, dear," Rin said as she rubbed her eyes again. "Because I did not fufill my prophecy of winning my beloved's heart and have him wed me. I did not live up to my duty as a Forbidden Flower and stayed alive to even stay by Kakashi-kun's side, only as Obito's wife... I could not go to that path, Sakura, and I honestly have no regrets killing myself and be shut off from our past lives for the past ten years."

"I'm so glad...that you're here with me, Rin-chan," Sakura mumbled over a sob as she cuddled her way into Rin's embrace and allowed the dead woman to rock her body like a mother to her baby, petting her pink hair. "I would be alone if you were with them, and I'm so sorry that everything that shouldn't happened to you."

"I don't regret anything, Sakura-chan," Rin whispered as she planted a soothing kiss ontop of Sakura's head. "And I will not leave you behind anymore of anything you ask for, and I will not hide from you anymore."

Cupping the eighteen-year-old's face, Rin pulled herself back to look into Sakura's emerald eyes that were crying tears of sorrow. "If I may, I honestly believe that you will not make mistakes as I did... I can see so much love from Sasuke-kun everytime he stands by you or looks at you with that goddamn stoic-expression on his face. Sasuke-kun is not like Kakashi-kun, and he is certainly not like Obito-kun."

"What do you mean..?" Sakura spluttered with a confused gurgle of sobs.

"Sasuke-kun is staying faithful and loyal to you, unlike what Kakashi-kun could do for me," Rin hummed as she nodded. "And, as for Obito-kun, Sasuke-kun is taking things way too slow for our liking because of all this mess inside your head, love." Rin gestured gently by poking Sakura's shared broad forehead as the pink-haired girl did the same to the equally large feature of the face on Rin. "As much as Obito-kun was a gentlman, he took things too fast with me, forcing me to get close and kiss him when I didn't want to. He took advantage of my body and feelings for his own. But, however, Sasuke-kun is listening to his mother's advice by giving you the power to take charge..."

"Ahem..." Sakura blinked as she remembered Sasuke confessing that he loved her with all his heart, and didn't expect anything in return.

Reading that though, Rin nodded with a smile. "Sakura-chan, it is your chance to fix up your past and then mend it in your present...so you can have the future that I would never have! I know you love Sasuke-kun on the inside, and now you have the chance to do that...when I didn't."

"Rin-chan..!" Sakura sobbed shamelessly as she buried her face into Rin's breasts, crying outloud of how she wanted to break all her barriers herself and make up a happy story between her and Sasuke; giving the closure that Rin had tried to do herself, but proved to be too late on her part.

Sakura has this chance to give the love Rin couldn't give.

Sakura cried harder against Rin as the dead woman continued to pet her hair and cradle her in her arms, whispering sweet rhymes to calm her down as Sakura started to fall asleep into her arms, finding no more energy between herself and Rin, and was falling into unconsciousness as Rin kissed her head one more time before she fell to sleep, only to wake up back into the real world.

=xxx=

Sasuke carefully removed a stray lock of hair from Sakura's slumbering face before stroking her moist cheek to remove a tear that slipped from her closed eye. He was wondering how someone like Sakura dream something so sad that it would make her shed tears in her sleep; he worried a little about that, but soon found himself to sigh in defeat and lean back from Sakura's bed to shake his wet hair. He had recently finished training with his father and followed Naruto into the Uzumaki household to beat the sudden rain, but it proved unhelpful to be poured upon with heavy rain on his already-thick coat and dampen his wings.

Yeah, Sasuke's tall, black wings were soaked to the bone. Way too uncomfortable for his liking.

As he glanced back to inspect them, Sasuke eyes how his six-feet tall wings jittered to remove the droplets of water from the tip of the feathers on instinct. The black feathers sparkled in the lowly-dimmed bedroom as they settled down to a more lagging posture as he looked back to the sleeping lady. Sasuke inwardly sighed when he remembered the brutal training that his father forced upon him, and the conversation that held during that time.

"How are you feeling, my son?" Fugaku asked as he flew above Sasuke to dodge a flying arrow from the obstacle onground. Minato and Naruto were told to handle the pulling to aim and shoot arrows and sharp kneedles up to their companions, so that they may learn how to be quick in air with their black wings.

Feeling somewhat bothered by his father's sudden change in behavior, Sasuke casted him a raised brow and a twitch of his lip. "Why do you ask?"

Sighing, Fugaku pushed Sasuke to the left, giving the arrow to whiz by and barely snip one of his spikes. Sasuke glared down with death in his eyes as Naruto snickered and pointed at Minato, who blinked and scowled at his only son.

"I ask because your mother worries," Fugaku confessed before ordering Sasuke to drop onto land as he was. Once they tucked in their wings and fell straight through the trees, Fugaku resumed his explanation. "She feels that you, being a fullgrown man, would have difficulties keeping yourself promising to your mother's advice with Sakura."

"You're saying...that Mother thinks I won't keep my pants on?" Sasuke gagged as he started hissing in distasteful blame. "What the hell brought this on, hn?"

"Hn." That was all Fugaku said in response, causing Sasuke to regret ever inheriting his father's vocabulary.

"Father," Sasuke ground out as he stood infront of the slightly taller man, "I have no plans in pushing Sakura at a pace that would feed...a man's need. I have no intentions of bedding her and become less responsible for making her more angered about being here!"

Fugaku shrugged. "I was just asking. It was your mother who kept weeping in bed about how you could end up being like Ita-."

"Stop it, Father," Sasuke growled lowly, catching Fugaku's attention. "I am nothing that piece of trash. I will not harm this family like he did!"

Rubbing his chin, Fugaku breathed and hoped that it would have calmed Sasuke down by the eased body-language. "I never meant it like that, son. He is not the boy your mother and I raised to betray his family like that; he's nothing more to me then a good-for-nothing tramp that would be eliminated if he were to ever show up here."

"He wouldn't dare," Sasuke bit out in a snarl, looking away from Fugaku. "Don't ever compare me to him."

"I'm not. You're nothing like Itachi and never will be anything like Itachi." Fugaku walked past his youngest son, placing a hand on his shoulder for little comfort that his father was only good for doing. "If anything, Kizashi and I see you as an ideal Demon: you stay loyal to those you care for, and for that, you will be a good husband and future father."

"Hn..."

Smirking, Fugaku gently pushed Sasuke. "And a stubborn King, too. Just like me."

Twitching his wings, Sasuke grumbled about how his father had horrible moodswings, becoming all serious about Sasuke's hormones and then being a teasing nutbag that he tries to be. Sasuke didn't understand his father, and it doesn't seem like Fugaku understands his youngest son either. What Itachi did to his family - to Sasuke! - was marked to be highly unforgivable for as long as Uchiha Itachi breathes air.

Looking down at the necklace on Sakura's collarbone, Sasuke couldn't think of anything more then to ensure the safety and happiness for Sakura. His Sakura.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke figured it would be the proper time to go and let Sakura continue on with her nap. It was becoming a little more frequent for this young woman to grow drowzy as she keeps trying to connect with her past lives, and it worries Sasuke on her health overall, but he won't say anything to stop her on what she wants to do. As long as she doesn't pass out while training or in proper danger, he would be alright with that.

Sasuke was about to get up when two, tiny hands grabbed for his fingers on his knee. Looking down, Sasuke realized that Sakura had woken up, her eyes wide open with a busting energy, as she was looking at the large, fluttering wings planted on Sasuke's back.

"You have wings?" she asked, her voice slightly groggy from sleep.

Sasuke sat back down on the floor by her bed and nodded. He never showed Sakura his wings before, only when she was a very tiny baby and he would fly around the mountain terrain of the Haruno territory in the Human World; causing some rumors in the town to think that a Tenju or the Mothman resided on holy ground.

"They're big," she mumbled as she sat up. Sasuke noticed that she hasn't let go of his hand too. "How do they come out? I never noticed the back of your shirts to be stuffed with feathers."

"Hn," Sasuke smirked a bit. "I summon them with chakra."

"Does anyone else do it? Summon wings, I mean."

Sasuke shook his head and allowed Sakura to look closer. Much closer. She crawled into his lap, and Sasuke had to inhale quickly to take in the action and be quick to hold her onto his lap, her feet dangling off his leg as she pressed her side into his chest and wrap her arms around his thick neck. With her little hands, she gently touched his shoulderblades that were exposed in the giant rips of the back of his yukata shirt, causing the thin bones of the wings to stiffen by the near touch. She stiffened in his hold as her emerald eyes kept looking at the sleek, black feathers that looked soft to the touch.

"It's alright," Sasuke murmured softly, his eyes shifting to look at her tightened jaw. "You can touch them. It doesn't hurt..."

Pressing her mouth into his shoulder like a little kid, Sakura dared herself to gently stroke the scapular part of his right wing. Both wings gently bent towards Sasuke's back in a more relaxed position, allowing Sakura to reach better to touch the thicker feathers in the base. Resting her cheek on his shoulder, she looked at his black wings wonderingly and with a shy smile plastered on her face.

"It reminds me of angels," Sakura spoke after a while of gently petting his wings. "Like the ones I see paintings of inside Christian churches and Bible books with pictures, but these are black instead of white. They're more pretty in this color..."

Sasuke looked ahead as he listened to her soft voice against his ear. He could feel the warmth of her body bleeding through his damp clothes and warm his own skin, drying him inside and out from the rain that was pounding on the tiled roof and walls. Thunder could be slightly heard in the distance, but it was nowhere close to the Uchiha Compound. It never ventures close to the Clan that tamed thunder centuries ago.

"Can you be my angel, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura suddenly asked as she cuddled further into his chest and curled better in his hold. She looked at him with sparkly eyes that made his heart stop, unable to move his mouth to respond to it.

She was looking at him lovingly, like she used to before he sealed himself away from her.

Having her wait for an answer, Sasuke blinked and gently nodded for her to see. Slowly, he leaned down and pressed his face into her shoulder, wrapping his arms slightly tighter around her as she cuddled her temple against the crown of his head affectionately. He inhaled her tempting scent and continued to nod a little as the hand that was touching his wings was now stroking his spikey locks.

"Yeah," he said very quietly as the force of raindrops continued to drum against the ceiling. He felt her sigh silently and pressed herself much, much closer to him as went on. "Yeah. Yeah, I will..."

"You promise, Sasuke-kun?" she asked against his hair, the sound of worry in her voice.

"Because I love you," Sasuke whispered, "I will be your angel."

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Love takes time with a soulmate.

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It promises you a secured future of joy, pain and completion within the heart.

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If you are patient, then you will given more then you wished for...

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And, for that, will make life worth living for.

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"Ready. Set... Go!" Sakura yelled to Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon as they screamed giggles and ran away from the pink-haired teen and her blond friend. Sakura couldn't contain her bright smile as Ino imitated a book monster of a giant, sticking her arms up and deepening her voice as Sakura followed the same procedure.

"Roaaaar! I'mma get those nummy children!" Ino snarled with a teasing smile as she pinpointed Konohamaru protecting Moegi and Udon by guiding them down the stoned stairs inside the Uchiha palace. "These three will make a wonderful dinner, ne, Monster Forehead?"

"Yes, Monster Pig!" Sakura laughed grabbed Konohamaru's sides and tickled him. The scarfed kid screamed into a fit of giggles as he tried to squirm his way out of her, but Sakura was quick to lift up the child into a tight hug. "I got you, Konohamaru!"

"Nah! Nah! Nah!" Konohamaru rejected his defeat and continued to try and fight out of Sakura's snuggling hug, which he frozed in his spot when Sakura pressed her cheek to his and gave him a smooch on his cheekbone. Konohamaru faked a gurgle and went limp in her hold, causing Sakura to giggle furiously as she sat on the last step and continued to cuddle him.

"You're so cute, Konohamaru! So cute and adorable!" she cooed before grabbing the Demon child's ribs and tickling him gently. Konohamaru jerked and started giggling until he needed to sneeze into his scarf.

"You got me, Sakura-hime!" Konohamaru whined with a big grin after scrubbing his face.

It was still raining outside the next morning, after Sakura found out that Sasuke could make wings, of course, and so Sakura was tackled the next day by the three Demon children and was asked to play with them. Not wanting to get herself or the children sick, Sakura suggested that they play in the Uchiha palace as long as they didn't bother the other Uchihas. They have done great by ignoring the other Uchiha men and women who passed by (some smiled at their playful attitude, other grumbled and walked on when Sakura came into view), and Sakura was proud of teaching the three children and Ino as well on how to behave in a cool place like this.

"I'mma get you, Moegi-chan!" Konohamaru cheered loud and proud once Sakura set him down, taking off after the orange-colored hair girl smiled at him and pushed Udon into another room.

Sakura giggled as Ino plopped down on the stairs beside her. "Jeez, these kids have more energy then Pakkun on sugar-sticks times a hundred!" Ino puffed a heavy breath and ruffled her blonde hair. "I don't know how Naruto or Hinata-chan does it."

"Years of practice?" Sakura shrugged. "I think Naruto and Hinata-chan will do great when they have their baby, honestly. They're responsible and have a lot of love to share!"

"True," Ino smiled giddy-like as she remembered Hinata's stomach starting to puff out just the tiniest bit. She explained to Sakura earlier on how Demon women can store extra chakra into their womb to help the baby grow a bit stronger, as what Chi did to have their only daught be born seven months after Sakura's birth, so that the girls will be in classes together.

"And," Sakura added in with a smile, "I bet Konohamaru and his friends will be great role mod-!"

Crash!

"YOU LITTLE TURDS, I'M GONNA SKIN YOU ALIVE!" Kushina's voice stung Ino and Sakura's ears as Naruto's loud growl echoed through the hallway. Both teenage girls got up from the stairs and went into the room where the three brats scrambled to find long sashes of navy ribbon and glittering ornaments scattered all over the porcelain floor.

Looking around, Sakura found the room to be large and spacious, a giant chandellior of diamonds and red gems stood in the center of the ceiling, which was decorated with the lavender sky and grey clouds in pastel paint; small, yet very noticible figures of winged Demons flew across the painting, some had swords and others had shields. The columns of white-greek and glass windows that lit the room to a very heavenly brightness, that it just didn't match with the outerior of the Uchiha palace.

"Sakura, honey!" a familiar voice of Mikoto caught her attention as she was approached by the said Demon Goddess in her usual dark clothes and pretty smile. Mikoto instantly reached for Sakura and pinched her cheeks. "I bet you haven't seen this room yet, right? I was going to show you once we've finished the decorations."

"It's really pretty, Mikoto-chan," Sakura awed with glittering eyes. "Is this a ballroom?"

"Uh-huh, this is the main party room of the palace," Mikoto giggled. "One of my favorites, to be honest, and I was hoping to get this all dolled up by tomorrow since the rain is delaying everything."

"Ehm?" Sakura blinked as Mikoto took her hand and led her over to the center of the floor, where a golden design of the uchiwa fan and unknown markings of a language decorated it perfectly. "Are you hosting a party?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you? Dear me, I keep forgetting to spend some more time with you, but everything just gets in the way, doesn't it?" Mikoto puffed her cheeks and watched as Naruto hauled Udon and Konohamaru by the scruffs of their shirts and carried them out of the room, Moegi following with a curious gaze to the whining boys. "I usually like to host a party between the three kingdoms to get everyone on an equal page and have fun. And, since the seasons are starting to change, why not make people happy by having a wonderful party hosted by the most amazing Demon Goddess around?"

Kushina picked up a end of the navy sash and started running barefoot on the slippery floor, jumping onto a colomn and twirling around as the scarf wrapped itself around the white structure, setting off a party-like feeling with the small gems hanging off the edges. Sakura watched in amazement as Ino picked up the little gems that broke from the children's roughhousing.

"I'm inviting the Senju kingdom, so you can meet Mebuki's mother," Mikoto added in sweetly when the pink-haired girl glanced back to her. "I've been dying to have Tsunade-sama meet you, darling; she's going to love you so much! And I bet Chiyo and Tsunade will go at it with an old game of poker." Mikoto giggled slyly as she mumbled the placement of her pokercards. "Will you please attend my party, Sakura-chan?"

"Oh, uhm..."

"Of course she will!" Ino's loud and proud voice came into the picture as she wrapped an arm around Sakura's suddenly tensed shoulders. Emerald eyes looking at the blonde beauty, Sakura's heart felt like cement at the idea of being around other Demons. "Karin-chan and I will pamper this lovely princess and make her the life of the party! Since my last plan on making her a special get-together, well, she almost got eaten alive. But that's another story for later."

Now that she thinks about it, a party in a new world didn't sound so bad...

Smiling shyly, Sakura clapped her hands together as she gave off a giggle to Mikoto. "It sounds like fun, Mikoto-chan," she grinned as the Demon Goddess brightened up inside the white room. "When is it?"

"It's tomorrow. Can you get an outfit intime for it?"

"Pfft, you're asking if she can get an outfit intime for a party?" Ino snorted with a cat-like smile on her face. "Mi'lady, you do know that Sakura-chan has a Yamanaka friend? I'll get her an outfit, makeup and shoes, if my species didn't have such an obbsession complex on their loved one's style!"

Sakura couldn't hold in her giggle as she slipped out of Ino's hug and bid Mikoto goodbye before leaving the ballroom that she would attend to tomorrow, hoping to find Konohamaru and his friends to play with. She turned the corner to see the hallway empty and continued on for a while...

'Where is everybody..?' Sakura thought worriedly. She stepped into the dark hallway, out of mere memory, and tiptoed down the wooden flooring. When she arrived to the certain shouji door, she reached a small fist out and knocked on the wooden frame gently.

"Sasuke-kun, are you there?" she whispered a bit loud against the paper wall before pressing her ear against it, trying to hear of anything on the other side. She waited a moment before knocking again and asking a similar question. "Are you sleeping, Sasuke-kun..?"

Being careful, Sakura used two hands to open his heavy bedroom door and peeked inside. It was empty of bodies, as it should be in a way, and Sakura welcomed herself inside and slid the door shut. She glanced around, murmuring hello here and there until she realized that she was very much alone in Sasuke's bedroom. She looked around and admired how neat and casual it was (for a Demon God, she supposed) and how relaxing it is whenever she entered this particular room...

Even though this is the second time. But you get the idea.

'What are you doing here, Sakura-chan?' Rin's sweet voice shyly emerged in the back of her head and invisible hands gently held her shoulders. 'Why are you looking for Sasuke-kun..?'

A shy blush crept on Sakura's cheeks. "I wanted to ask if Sasuke-kun would be going to the party, and if he wanted to go with me," she giggled as she held her face. "Childish, I know, but I really, really want to spend more time with him. Is that selfish of me?"

'No, I don't believe so,' Rin grinned in her voice, allowing Sakura to bite back a laugh that someone could hear. 'But I don't think he's going to be here for a while.'

"Then I'll wait," Sakura announced quietly as she strolled across the room and opened the patio door, stepping out to see that the rain had lightened up a bit and how the tiled roof overhead would shield her body from the rain dripping from the gutters. She smiled at the wonderful scent of freshly fallen rain and closed the door behind her before sitting by one of the pillars holding it up.

Quietly, Sakura listened to the droplets of rain hitting the wood and grass of Sasuke's backyard, closing her eyes to relish the sweetness nature had to offer in this world and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at the thought of Sasuke sitting by her at this very spot and watching the sky with that usual expressionless face on his pale features. She would dare herself to lean against his arm and hold onto his shirt, look at him with a dreamy face and smile at him when he would glance down to see what she was up to.

'I'm feeling tired, Rin-chan,' Sakura whispered into her thoughts as a familiar soreness emerged in her forehead.

'It's your barriers, Sakura-chan,' Rin mumbled in a somewhat worried voice. Sakura's eyes squinted shut as she carefully laid back, rubbing her eyes in the midst of being uncomfortable. 'Sakura-chan, can you hear me?'

'Rin-chan..?'

'Where are you? Answer me.'

'Say something, please!'

'I'm-!'

"- I'm scared, Kizashi," a familiar voice made Sakura open her eyes against the comforting fabric of a bed. She blinked a few times, as if she woke up from sleeping for a while now, and cuddled her face against a cushioning thigh of a woman's leg. A woman's hand, soft and delicate, reached and carressed Sakura's chubby cheekbone.

'Momma...' she thought with a sigh of contentment. 'I'm back with Momma and Dad...'

"There is nothing to be scared of, Sasuke," Sakura's father's masculine voice perked her little ear. She could just remember the warmth her father's hug would give her whenever she was fussy or cold. His voice was gentle, yet somewhat bothered by whatever they were discussing about.

Sakura heard Sasuke make a grunting noise of annoyance. "How often is it that Sakura announces the day of someone's death? Especially her parents! That can not be 'nothing to be scared of'!"

"Relax, Sasuke," Mebuki whispered in a hushed voice when Sakura made a noise of being disturbed in her sleep. Her mother gently rubbed her daughter's scalp until she sighed dreamy-like. "You're going to wake her up, you know."

Silence itched into the bedroom for the longest time, an uncomfortable cloud of sadness and depression overtook the whole scene. Kizashi, watching his wife pet their child's sleeping head very gently, her sunken face and boney hands were obvious under her pajamas; as his own noticable features of his bloodveins emerged on his arms, legs and chest in the color of purple and the lack of sparkle in his green eyes. He sighed in absolute serene, willing to accept what their five-year old daughter announced to them earlier that day.

"Today is the day Momma and Dad move to Heaven!"

After the birth, Mebuki's body was not reacting well into healing on its own and her body continued to drain nutrients. All of this was caused by Mebuki's desperate wish to store her chakra inside the womb, just like her own mother explained in making their child grow strong and healthy. It was never proven on how exactly Mebuki's body was unable to produce anymore chakra, but it was now too late for her.

Kizashi, on the other hand, was bitten by a lowlife Demon that used poison as its own benefit. There was no known cure for this particular poison, and even Chiyo had spent years trying to make her son and his wife better so that they may watch their only daughter grow up.

Honestly, Kizashi wouldn't have his life any other way, as Mebuki would feel the same.

Smiling down at their sleeping child, Kizashi rubbed Sakura's back when she stretched in her mid-slumber. He looked back up to the Demon God sitting at the end of their bed, facing them, and his face pained with the realization that there was no way to save the parents of the Forbidden Flower.

"Do not be sad, Sasuke," Mebuki tried to comfort gently. "It is normal for the Forbidden Flower's parents to pass away, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be always," Sasuke bit out, not meeting their gazes. "You should at least survive to her adulthood."

Shaking their heads slowly, both Kizashi and Mebuki held each others hands tightly. "We are not sad by this, Sasuke," Kizashi said with a grin. "If anything, we are happy to have been alive to see Sakura smile at us and be the sunshine in our lives."

"We are willing to accept our fate," Mebuki whispered softly. "As long as you will be here for her and always love her."

"I do love Sakura," Sasuke jerked his head up, his eyes wide. "Sakura is more important then my own life."

"We know," Sakura's mother giggled, causing Sakura to open her eyes. "That's why we trust you, and we want you two to be as happy as we were falling in love."

Sakura's emerald eyes glanced down tiredly to Sasuke's haunted form. He looked tired and drained himself, making her feel upset that Sasuke was struggling with the upcoming death of the two people who brought the one he would take care of forever and hold into his arms...

"Please," Sasuke sighed out, closing his eyes, "don't do this. Sakura needs you both in her life."

"No," Kizashi retorted softly. "Sakura needs you in her life more then anyone else."

Sitting up from between her parents' bodies, Sakura yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking up to her parents warm smiles. For once in a long while, Sakura saw the stars in both Kizashi and Mebuki's eyes when they smiled at her, making her feel all warm and tingly on the inside, she couldn't help but smile back at them.

"Momma and Dad okay?" she asked with a grin, reaching up to touch her father's beard.

"We're just fine, Sakura," Kizashi chuckled as he leaned down to kiss his daughter's head. "Your Mommy and I will be going to sleep now; will you go with Sasuke and keep him company for a while?"

Sakura nodded as the little child as was. "Momma and Daddy be careful, okay?"

"We will, sweetie," Mebuki cooed as she hugged her daughter close. Sakura could feel the weakening heartbeat inside her mother's chest. "You will be a good girl for Chiyo, okay? Listen to her and have your manners."

"Okie dokie," Sakura chirped. She allowed her mother to let her go so that she may kiss both of her parents cheeks carfully before crawling down the bed towards Sasuke, her body getting more awake as she ventured closer to her special person. "Sasuke-kun!"

Without holding back, Sasuke opened his arms for her to crawl into his lap. His strong arms wrapped around her body tightly, burying his face into her pink hair. She could feel the saddness inside him as she cuddled her head against him chest. Looking back up to the parents of Haruno Sakura, Sasuke took one last look at the two humans who gave his life worth living for.

=xxx=

Resting her head on Sasuke's shoulder, Sakura cuddled more into his hold on the couch in the Haruno Shrine's livingroom, where Sasori was making a puppet with nothing else to do and Chiyo was upstairs with her adopted child and his loving wife that she took to heart. Sasuke had a blanket wrapped around them as her palms pressed on his bare chest, feeling his strong heartbeat.

Relaxing her thoughts, Sakura could hear everything.

She could hear her mother and father's heartbeats from upstairs, and even Chiyo's soft voice and heart as she spoke of fond memories of Kizashi growing up. Mebuki would give a weak giggle here and there and Kizashi would make a coughing laugh when Chiyo scolded him about something he did as a kid to make her mad. Slowly, oh, so slowly, Sakura was feeling the decreasing pumps of the organs that kept them alive.

Chiyo's voice went softer now, saying a little blessing to her little boy and the woman she considered a darling daughter-in-law.

And it stopped.

Pulling her head away from Sasuke's hot neck, Sakura looked up to the ceiling with a gentle gaze. She did not feel sad, nor did she feel like she had to cry about the loss of her parents. They weren't lost, after all, but forever will be watching Sakura in a better place where they could have the energy to take long walks in the gardens and hold each other as they danced to their favorite music.

Sakura felt her waist being tightened just a little bit by Sasuke's hands, causing the young girl to drop her gaze to look at Sasuke; his chin up to stare at the ceiling with a hard glare. His jaw clenched and brows furrowed as his breathing hitched to the point that it didn't sound normal anymore...

Gently, Sakura used her little hand to reach up and touch his chin and softly guide his face down to meet her sparkling emerald eyes. Black eyes of sadness and a broken heart was read easily to the child, and she could tell that Sasuke was hurting so much about her parents leaving them.

"Sasu-kun," Sakura mewled with a soft smile as she leant up and pressed a kiss on his chin, showing him that everything will be okay between them and allow Sasuke to let his walls come crumbling down. She felt him shake under her, and she allowed him to pull her into a hug as he bit his lip harder, pressing his nose against her head as he tried to calm himself down as best as he could.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered against his ear as Sasori's sobs surprised her. She wrapped her arms around his head and pet his head like she would do to the injured bunnies while she healed them - letting them know that she wasn't going to let them suffer anymore.

"Sakura..." Sasuke whimpered out under his breath as he pressed a kiss to her hair, cradling her head as he continued the ministrations of kissing her head, cheeks and forehead. "I love you so much, Sakura... I won't ever leave you."

"I know..."

Inhaling harshly, Sasuke pressed his forehead against her shoulder. "I won't die on you, baby, I promise; I will stay by your side and make sure you're happy. Your parents were wonderful and I only wished I could have done something to save them..!"

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun," she whispered softly. "They're okay now. They're just sleeping..."

Swallowing, Sasuke raised his head and pressed his forehead against hers, allowing their eyes to melt together. "I'm going to take care of you and love you with everything I have inside me, Sakura; I want you to be happy with me and know how much I love you..."

"I love you too, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled sweetly as she held his face in her little hands. His eyes closed as one single tear slipped from his tear duct. It was not a lot of water to consider an actual tear, but Sakura treated it the same as she kissed the tiny, tiny droplet off his cheek and murmured to him. "I love you, Sasuke-kun. I love you very much..."

Sasuke exhaled and held Sakura close to him, allowing her to feel his heartbeat again. She felt his sadness slowly being blocked away by another emotion that covered the sadness for a while, allowing it to shrink into a tiny size with something that she hoped could be permanent with the rest of their lives together.

Sweet love.

"Sakura."

'Sakura-chan, wake up, honey! Listen to me!'

"Goddamn it, Sakura, you're getting wet!"

Two voices that were too familiar to Sakura emerged from the drowning memory of her parents last day alive; making her heart flutter like a bird's wing with all of the missing emotions that she used to feel, what she cared for most in her life. Her mouth opened to exhale a groan as she felt hot, strong hands holding her face and shoulders, gently patting and shaking to get her awake. She felt cold, but it was the warmth she was looking for all along in those hands that was waking her up.

Slowly, Sakura's blurry vision came to see Sasuke's serious face looking down at her. His brows knitted together as his mouth pressed to a thin line of worry. His eyes were sharp and concerned for the wellbeing of the one he's paying attention to.

"S-...Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gurgled when Rin whispered a soft goodbye before disappearing into her thoughts, probably checking on the barriers that were causing such a ruckus and making her pass out.

The rain was pouring now, and Sakura took the moment to realize that the lower half of her body was exposed to the shower, making her dress cling to her skin and goosebumps on her legs as her mind snapped. She was shivering now, and Sasuke was hovering above her, facing her angle, and was trying to get her to listen to get her out of the chilling rain.

"How stupid do you think you are?" Sasuke scolded softly with a gentle voice, yet his eyes still icy. "Do you want to get sick? The rain in this world is much colder and could give you hypothermia, you annoying girl."

She blinked, oblivious to his words.

"I told you, you could come here anytime you wanted," Sasuke started out, "but you need to keep your health in mind. I don't want to feel guilty of knowing you can't feel your legs all because you fell asleep outside and-!"

Sakura didn't let him finish. Instead, she used both hands to slip up his arms, wrap around his neck and allow her fingers to thread through his soft, spikey hair. Her eyes melting into his black ones, hoping that he would understand what she was about to do.

And she pulled Sasuke's head down to have their lips meet.

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I was sleeping for so long, missing the only thing I wanted most.

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Everything still doesn't make sense, but somehow it's getting tolerable...

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I don't fear anything anymore.

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And now, all I want is you.

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=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Hallo, please don't kill me c: Cliffhangers are what I'm best with, remember? How many chapters have you been waiting for THIS? Eh? Too long, you say..? I'm sorry, but you know I love you all c: Next chapter will be the best out of the others, okay? So just be patient and allow your imagination to burst like bubble wrap!

Remember to leave a Review, Follow, Favorite or the mere memory of passing this fanfiction to another one (because there are better ones out there)! Kitty appreciates everything you all do and I want you to know that I LOOOOOVE YOU! c: Have a wonderful day and be happy!