Chapter Nine: An Angel, a Demon, and Their Mortal

Ancient Greece:

After Sasuke left her in a fashion that she was beginning to think was normal, sudden and confusing, she dazedly went into her house and up to her room. Her exhausted body had barely made it to the bed before she flopped onto her back. Her feet hung over the edge while her hands dangled over the sides. For an hour she lay like this. Her body tired but her mind too muddled and mixed for sleep.

Still dressed in her clothes from earlier, with no intention of changing until the next morning, Sakura lay restlessly on her bed as she stared up at the ceiling of her room.

Something had changed tonight. At what point this change occurred, she was not sure. Before tonight she had seen Sasuke only twice in her life. Each time had been just as intense as the other. And each time she had felt on edge. Like a prey being watched by a predator.

But on this third encounter there had been a shift. Sometime between the moment Sasuke stepped out from the shadows into the road and when he stepped back into the shadows with only the ghost of his fingers against her skin as evidence that he was there.

Somewhere between those two moments, something had changed. She had felt at ease. More than at ease. She had felt...safe. Which was odd because never before had she felt unsafe.

She was not naive enough to think the world without its dangers, but it was a simple fact that bad things did not happen in this countryside. Yet somehow he had managed to create the illusion of being protected from a danger that was not there. And there was more to him than she had thought. Before she thought him distant and indifferent but he continued to surprise her in the small gestures he offered. They were awkward and rigid, but they were sincere to what he was. He was a protector and he cared more than what he showed to the people important to him.

Like Naruto. He called the blonde seraph every insulting name she knew and more. But despite their frequent bickering and writing each other off, Sakura could tell that Sasuke truly valued Naruto's friendship. She would not be so bold as to think Sasuke felt this way about her, but the thought was appealing. And perhaps with time, and more appearances of the dark haired seraph, maybe she could be gifted with such a friendship.

Her mind replayed the small banter they had shared just before he slipped away into the dark. She was not sure what had come over her when she had challenged him like that. But she could not help but feel it was exactly what he wanted. It was painfully confusing and her mind strained to provide answers that only resulted in a headache.

A heavy sigh of frustration escaped her lips and she shut her eyes, determined to fall asleep and not think anymore of it. When her body did not seem to be lulling into any state of rest, she shifted. Pulling her legs up to cross and fall open as she moved an arm up to cushion her head. With her eyes still clamped shut, she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out as she mentally traveled through her body and relaxed every muscle. It was an old technique she learned from a healer man who had traveled from the far east. And for awhile the effort seemed to work.

She was nearly lost in the focus of the air moving in and out of her lungs when all concentration was broken by the abrupt tap on her forehead. Body frozen in shock, Sakura's heart pounded in her chest as her eyes snapped open only to be stunned by a wave of confusion.

She had expected to see a dark haired figure with glowing red eyes to be hovered over her. But what she was greeted with, was the same boring ceiling she had been staring at all night as it played backdrop to her own hand suspended over her face. Extended and pressed against her forehead, were her own two fingers. She glared up at them in accusation then mentally cursed the rest of her arm for moving on its own accord.

'Maybe next time.'

The words played in her mind with the voice that was quickly becoming familiar. Smooth syllables with a touch of darkness that bordered on dangerous. Every time he spoke, she could not help but relish the richness of his tone. Despite the potential menace it held, she could not help but be drawn into the underlying promise of something enticing.

But what had he meant by those words?

It could be interpreted as a promise to do what she had challenged him to do. Claim her soul, and drag her down to the dark lords realm. There she would suffer the darkest of punishments Hades saved for the most evil of deed workers. It seemed like an unfathomable idea that she could earn such a place in the underworld. But there was something about Sasuke that told her he could make the best of people, join the worst, with just his words. Those sinfully dark, yet drawing words, could be her downfall.

She shivered.

It disturbed her how much his words could send her body into a nearly euphoric state. He was dangerous, there was no doubting that. But yet, she could not deny the strange pull she felt for him. She had been drawn to him since the beginning.

She had not noticed it at first. In fact tonight was the first time she took acknowledgement of it. There was no other way to describe it, other than having a string attached to her finger to which the other end was connected to him. When he moved, she felt a tug. A pull in which she was instinctively compelled to give into. It made the thought of being dragged down to hell, not quite so fear inspiring when attached to the promise, that he would be there with her.

She bolted up from her bed.

Those thoughts were not her. She narrowed her brows and glared down at her hands. She traced her finger, running the tip of her left pointer around the circumference of her right hands counterpart. Quietly, she stood and sat down at the bench beneath the small window of her room. She looked out into the dark, contemplating this idea.

The pull was not always there. It was usually during the late hours of the night. Like when she was tending to her family's garden before going to bed. Other times she would be woken from the soft tug. Now that she was aware of it, she wondered if it meant that when the pull became absent, it meant he was absent as well. Gone from her world and into his own.

Not the one in the sky that she had first imagined, but the one down below. The one that she once was terrified by the thought of its existence. It worried her how much that fear had dissipated in such a short amount of time. The meaning of it was lost to her and she wondered if she would ever make sense of it. Such a connection to someone who was nothing but a strange mystery was absurd.

With a soft sigh, her head fell against the window frame as she gazed around the shadows of the night. Right now she could feel the tightening of the string around her finger. It was soft and subtle, as if it was more of an assurance that it was still there than an urging insistence that she follow. Did that mean that Sasuke was out there? If so, was it faint because he was far away or was it meant as something else?

It reminded her of the safety that had settled around her earlier that night. She should have been more afraid. She should have been terrified, still terrified, with the thought of a demon, other than Sasuke, lurking around these lands.

But she was not.

Instead she felt perfectly safe.

She recalled the stories her mother had told her long before she knew of the actual existence of the seraphim. Her favorites had always been about the guardian angels. Spirits that protect mortals from the evils of the underworld.

Perhaps there were guardian demons as well. Dark shadows that stalked instead of watched, and killed instead of protected. Over the past weeks, she had begun to think of Naruto as her guardian angel. If that was the case, then perhaps, without her knowledge or it seemed even his own, Sasuke was her dark shadow.

Suigetsu was nowhere to be found. Sasuke had spent the entire night soaring through the skies and haunting the ground below him, but there was no trace of the shark toothed demon, or any other demon for the matter. Despite this, he remained posted outside of Sakura's family manor until first light.

She was sleeping against the window sill. Her body leaned against the frame while her neck bent at an uncomfortable angle. If she spent the entire night like that, she would wake with a horrible knot in her neck.

He was tempted to go inside and lay her on her bed. But that would be crossing a line. He had never crossed over the walls of her home. Nor did he ever plan to. He was not here to take care of her, he was here to observe her. If she was too foolish to not get herself to bed then it was her own fault.

"Tch," he mumbled to himself. "So annoying."

And it was.

When Sasuke first began to observe her, he had come up with a set of strict guidelines. These rules were meant to keep him from becoming too involved. If his observances got too personal, he could possibly miss something. He was looking for facts, not friends. He needed to keep an unbiased observance.

But for some reason, Sakura made him want to break those rules which is what brought up this annoyance. Sasuke liked his rules. They kept things in order and he liked order.

So he stayed firmly perched in the tree and focused his attention on surveying the land around the manor, instead of what was in the manor. The moment the sky began to lighten, Sasuke was gone. Leaving no evidence for Sakura or anyone to know that he was even there.

It was the first meeting since his father told him of Madara's wishes two weeks ago. He had nearly skipped it in exchange for catching some sleep. But upon his arrival home, he ran into his father who had reminded him of his obligation to not disappoint his uncle's request. Or in other words, to not be an embarrassment for the family.

Fugaku had said it the same way he said everything. With sure expectation that Sasuke would be just that. An embarrassment.

So here he was.

Tired and annoyed, he made his way through the various faces that made up the council. Most ignored him. Being the second, lesser son of Fugaku, his presence seemed insignificant. But there were still a few raised brows and curious eyes to which he ignored or returned with a glare. After what felt like an eternity of wading through an amount that bordered on a mob than a council, he settled down into the empty seat next to his brother.

"What are you doing here?"

Unlike his father, Itachi did not sound degrading, only curious and perhaps slightly alarmed.

"Trying to prove to father that I am capable of not always being the disappointing failure that he sees me as," Sasuke replied, perhaps a bit more roughly than Itachi deserved. "Though I am sure I could sit here without moving or speaking anything and he would find something worthy criticism."

Sasuke's words had changed from rough, to biting bitterness. He watched his brother frown deeply at his remarks.

"You know he does not think that," Itachi assured. "He just…"

Words failed Itachi as he struggled to explain the complicated and more often incomprehensible person that was their father. Sasuke gave him a pointed look as if his falter only seemed to silently confirm Sasuke's earlier comment.

Itachi frowned. He did not like that his brother thought such things of himself.

Their father was hard and harsh with their upbringing but he had his reasons, albeit poorly justified, it was still what he thought was best. Fugaku expected a lot of them because he wanted what was best for his family. He cared and loved for his family deeply, he just didn't show it well. And to some, like his brother, it seemed it did not show at all.

But right now he had other worries.

Such as why exactly Sasuke was here. He had never shown an interest for council meetings or the politics of their world before. Yet, suddenly, when things were just beginning to escalate, he was here.

"So what else has brought about this sudden interest in meetings then?"

Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye before he moved his black irises to lay upon a point across the room. Itachi followed his direction until his eyes fell upon none other than their uncle, Madara Uchiha. A trickle of dread trailed down Itachi's body, leaving everything in its wake numb and buzzing.

"Apparently Madara has requested that I start attending," Sasuke said with a shrug.

The confirmation left a bitter taste in Itachi's stomach. Madara Uchiha was one of the oldest seraph's that was still alive. He had the most experience and knowledge in the ways and histories of their kind. He was also the closest stem from the original roots of any bloodline. That meant he was also the most powerful. And the last person he wanted near his brother.

Itachi was still very young when the war ended but he still remembered it vividly. Any child scared by the horrors of war would, and if he ever got close to forgetting, he could always rely on his nightmares to refresh him.

Madara had been strong even then. He had led legions through blood slaughter at the command of Tajima, Madara's father and Itachi's grandfather. At the time, it was he who had been the leader of the fallen. Tajima had been determined to wipe out all of the blessed. Many believed his son to share the same views given the ferocity in which Madara fought on the battlefields.

But Itachi remembered the few times when he saw his uncle's mask fall and he could see the pain that such wasted life caused him. It gave Itachi hope, and that hope grew when Madara himself claimed leadership and established peace almost immediately. It was the first time Itachi realized what life was supposed to be like. It was also the first time he was truly able to go about his true purpose in servitude.

For a time, Itachi considered his uncle a hero. Many still did. But itachi had lost faith in his uncle long ago. No one would dare say it, but Madara was unstable.

Many excused his slaughter of Hashirama as a grief stricken moment of weakness. But Itachi could see it. Like a thin veil hanging over Madara's head. His sanity was being suffocated. He saw it in his eyes. The cruel unsteady way he examined everyone with paranoia and as a possible threat. It is why he eliminated nearly the entire population of Senju. His actions seemed somewhat stable since then, but Itachi believed they were just dormant. That worried him. For there was no telling when it would stir again and who or what would be destroyed when the beast was unleashed.

Just before Sasuke was born, Madara had once taken an interest in Itachi. He had been fascinated with his proficiency and the quickness in which his sharingan evolved into the deeper, more dangerous stages. His uncle had tried to take him under his wing, claiming he wanted to help him develop those skills and prepare him as his beneficiary. But Itachi knew better. Madara did not want a successor, he wanted a weapon, a minion. He wanted a means to rule not just their realm, but all the realms.

But Itachi had made it clear long ago that he wanted nothing to do with Madara's dark musings. For awhile he thought that was the end of it, but then Sasuke was born.

Over the years their father had disregarded any effort Sasuke ever made. But while Fugaku watched blindly, Itachi had always seen the potential Sasuke held within him. Sasuke held within him a great power. A power that could do great things, but also greatly terrible. His younger brother had just not found the right motivation and focus needed to reach that potential. And it seemed Itachi was not the only one who had noticed this.

Madara had taken notice in Sasuke's potential not long after he mastered his wings. As soon as Itachi realized this, he had taken action to keep Sasuke away from Madara. For a while it had worked, decades had passed since then but it seemed his precautions had worn off. Madara was taking an interest again.

As if Madara sensed his stare, he suddenly turned from the Hyuga clan member he was speaking to and met Itachi's eyes. A glint of victory flashed across Madara's eyes as his attention flickered slightly to his left where Sasuke sat. Itachi felt his fingers curl into fists when he caught the ghost of a smug smile twitch at the corner of his uncle's mouth. Itachi sent him a heated, silent threat until Madara turned away to continue speaking to the Hyuga. Itachi's eyes remained on the back of Madara's head for another heated moment before moving his attention to his little brother.

"It would be best if you stay away from him," Itachi said in a warning tone.

Sasuke looked back at his brother, confused as to why Itachi would request such a thing. Itachi rarely did anything without warranted reasoning. It was the way he was. But his brother was also supportive of him, he was one of the few who believed in him. This recognition from Madara was a big step for Sasuke.

Yet, his always supportive brother was requesting that he disobey and disregard their uncle's acknowledgment. Was it not a good thing that their leader would want his presence at councils? Was his brother not proud that for once in his life, he was getting recognition as an asset to their world?

"Why?" Sasuke inquired, curious for his brothers' reasons.

Itachi stayed silent for a long moment as he continued to stare back at him with a blank face. Eventually he looked away. His black eyes swept across the council members as they began to settle into their seats.

"Just stay away from him," Itachi repeated.

And with those words hanging between them, the meeting began.

Despite the riveting and wholly detailed tale of an emperor's daughter, her guard, and the explicit encounters that happened between them in the dark, Kakashi found himself unable to give his full attention to the pictographs, beautifully composed on the scroll that Juriya had recently finished. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the little nymph that Naruto and Sasuke had managed to catch two months ago.

They had claimed she was a mortal and Kakashi had believed it until he laid his one visible eye on her. Since then, he was beginning to become a believer of the myths and legends passed between the mortals of these lands. She was quite exquisite, and he now understood why she caught the attention of the two young seraphs.

It would not have taken much for Naruto, but it had been Sasuke's subtle, but increasing involvement that had made Kakashi curious about the girl. And today he was granted a glimpse into those mysteries when upon their designated training time, he found himself sitting slightly adjacent to the girl in question.

At the moment she was preoccupied with watching Naruto and Sasuke spar with awe. Her eyes flicked from one point to another as she followed the black and white blur of wings as the two boys wrested, collided into, and chased one another. They had conversed a little when the session had first begun and with the small exchange of words, Kakashi felt he had already gathered enough to make a general assumption of her.

She reminded him a lot of Rin. Infectiously cheery with a bright smile, large eyes that displayed every emotion that was felt, and an instinctive need for healing others who were damaged in more ways than physical hurt.

He just hoped this girl would not also share the same fate as the other. Because despite all the wonderful traits that Sakura shared with Rin, there was one that worried him. She was a mortal. A mortal who seemed to be caught up in a world far beyond hers, and more deeply immersed than any of her kind should.

There was nothing truly wrong with mortality. At times Kakashi felt envious of mortals. Immortality, at times, could feel tedious.

Then again, for a sinner like him, maybe immortality was the damnation he would inevitably face when it finally came for him to be granted death. But for a bright spirit like Sakura, death seemed like a punishment. Not just for her but to the world. Warm, comforting spirits like hers should be eternal like the shining stars. But then again, even the brightest of stars eventually dim and fade.

"Why are you wings grey?"

It took him a moment to realize that Sakura was no longer watching Naruto. At the moment, said seraph was flying around like an irritant fly as he threw insults down to an annoyed Sasuke. Sasuke himself looked ready to do more than swat at him.

Kakashi looked away from the pair to give Sakura his full attention. Her green eyes looked innocently at him, completely ignorant of the highly personal question she had just asked him. Then again, it was a valid curiosity. He himself was an anomaly of his kind, just the way she was one her kind with her rosette locks.

"It's because I am old," he supplied, pulling his scroll up to hide his face and hoping she would accept the answer.

But when he peeked back over the scroll, she was eyeing him suspiciously.

"I thought seraphs were immortal," she pointed out. "What is the point of living forever, if you still have to deal with aging?"

He could not help but let out a small chuckle. It seemed that there was another trait she and Rin shared. Too smart for their own good.

"Careful Sakura," Kakashi teased. "With that kind of thinking you might realize that you mortals are better than us immortals."

She gave him a mischievous smile before going back to watching the rivalry that would never be settled.

Watching the three interact was the most intriguing. They all sat together with their feet dipped into the small stream of water that ran through the glade. Both boys sat with their wings sprawled out as if sunning themselves while Sakura's hair shone rosy in the life giving light. It was an odd and amusing sight. An angel, a demon, and their little mortal. It brought a happy sadness in Kakashi's heart. To see that such things could still be formed, no matter the history that had happened in the past.

Sakura let out a lilting laugh before a relaxed silence fell between the trio. Kakashi heard her let out a happy sigh before linking her arm with Naruto's and then lay her head on his shoulder. She murmured something but her words were too low for even his heightened senses to catch. But it appeared that Sasuke had heard as his attention was drawn to the pixie sitting beside him.

Sasuke's dark eyes locked on her arm looped through Naruto's, then they trailed to her smiling face as she leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder. Kakashi watched as Sasuke's face hardened and frown at the pair, a flash of unmistakable envy flashing in his eyes.

Kakashi let out a small chuckle and wondered if the dark haired fallen even understood what he was feeling. As if sensing the dark jealousy, Sakura's left arm moved and looped through Sasuke's. As she fully linked her arms with his, he was forced to move closer as she sat up, moving her head from Naruto's shoulder as she pulled the pair closer to her. Kakashi watched as Sasuke's earlier sour look evaporated. Uncertainty surfaced at first, then it smoothed over with a relaxed contentment. The silver haired seraph could even swear there was a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Interesting," he mumbled to himself.

Sakura certainly was a special mortal.

Eventually Sakura announced her intended departure, claiming she had to check on a neighbor who had recently given birth the night before. Naruto gave her a hug goodbye to which Sasuke interrupted as he pulled her away to give a warning to be home before dark. Sakura returned his words with a roll of her eyes and assurance that she could take care of herself. When he gave his own words of doubt she happily reminded him that she had been doing it for seventeen years before he had shown up.

It was a statement that Kakashi could see grated on Sasuke as his jaw tightened and the corner of his eye twitched. He took several steps closer to Sakura. With each step, Kakashi could see the earlier confidence of Sakura slightly falter, but it never fully gave away.

They stood toe to toe for a growing moment, as if it were only the two of them. Kakashi watched with surprise as Sasuke lifted his hand and poked her in the middle of the forehead. Sakura's head jerked back as she blinked several times in surprise. Once recovered, she narrowed her eyes at him but Sasuke seemed unphased as he whispered something so low, Kakashi was certain even she could not hear the dark haired boy's words. And then Sasuke stepped back, and the odd, almost intimate exchange, was broken.

"Go and don't dawdle," Sasuke commanded.

Sakura's cheeks puffed as she pursed her lips. "Fine," she spat then turned to the other two.

Kakashi was taken aback by the instant and abrupt change in her face. One moment, hardened and defiant, the next, warm and sunny as a brilliant smile consumed her features.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Kakashi," she said with a small bow of her head. "Hopefully our threads of fate will cross again."

She gave a final wave to Naruto and a dark look to Sasuke, then skipped off towards the small farming settlement on the other side of the woods. Kakashi watched as Sasuke's dark eyes followed her until she disappeared from sight.

"So annoying," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

It was an utterance not meant to be heard by anyone else, but in his agitation, it came out strong enough for both Naruto and Kakashi to hear.

"Oh come on Sasuke," Naruto chimed, earning a dark look to be cast towards him. "You're just mad because she won't do everything you tell her and you can't control her."

Kakashi raised a brow at this. "What do you mean can't control her?" he asked curiously, causing both boys to look at him.

Sasuke's face was in a glower while Naruto's curled mischievously. "Sakura is immune to Sasuke's sharingan," Naruto supplied with glee.

Kakashi's single visible eye quickly darted to Sasuke who was busy trying to burn Naruto alive with his eyes. It was a good thing Sasuke's eyes were not as advanced as they could be, otherwise Kakashi was certain there would be sure black flames consuming the golden seraph.

"Is this true?" Kakashi inquired, drawing Sasuke's heated glare from Naruto to their teacher.

"Of course not," Sasuke denied through his teeth.

"Yes it is," Naruto argued. "She did it on the first day. Sasuke went to erase her memory of us but she broke out of his pull."

"That was only because I let her," Sasuke snapped back. "It was a fluke, a one-time thing."

"So you have used it on her since then?" Naruto asked, his voice holding a bit of a threatening edge.

Sasuke hesitated before giving an answer. "No," he proclaimed truthfully. "I have not needed to."

In truth it was because he was afraid that it was not a fluke. That it would turn out that she truly did resist his pull. Because that would mean he was weak. So weak in fact, that even a mortal could overcome what was supposed to be his most powerful attribute. If this was so, what did that mean for him if a mere mortal could beat him. Perhaps there was validity in his father's dissatisfaction.

His eyes flashed to his teacher who was looking at him with an eye that was too observing. The rest of the silver seraphs face was covered, but he could see the pull of cloth over his mouth that indicated he was deep in thought.

"What?" Sasuke growled.

Kakashi's brow rose at his tone. "It's nothing, just…"

"Just what?" Naruto encouraged.

Kakashi mussed up his already untamed hair. His mind raced. He had heard things, rumors and stories of mortals with certain souls. But that was the problem. They were rumors. And rumors were like feathers, it was rare they held any weight. That weight meaning truth.

"It's probably nothing," Kakashi said as casually as always.

But his nonchalant tone did nothing to lose the interest of his students.

"Tell us anyways," Sasuke demanded in a tone not normally used when speaking to superiors. Then again, Sasuke hardly ever held respect for anyone. "If it's nothing, then there is nor harm in humoring us."

Kakashi gave him a look that silently stated his dislike for the tone. But his immediate denial of the request died on his lips when he saw the emotion in Sasuke's eyes. A depraved hunger of desperation. He had seen that same look in the eyes of young scholars who craved knowledge. He had hardly seen Sasuke have a need for anything other than power.

Interesting.

"Very well, but it would be best that you keep this thought to yourselves," Kakashi warned, then waited until they each nodded. Once he had their promise of silence, he continued. "It might be possible that Sakura possesses a true soul."

There was a long pause of silence as Kakashi studied each of the boys for a reaction. It did not surprise him when their faces remained vacant of any understanding. Not many believed in true souls. They went against the nature of a seraphs purpose.

"A what?" Both Sasuke and Naruto questioned after a short while.

"More specifically, a true pure," Kakashi clarified. "There are two types of a true soul."

His words hung in the air again before Naruto let out a suppressed snort. "Of course her soul is pure, anyone who has looked at it will see there is not a single marring. She's too nice to do anything wrong. And I don't know if you noticed, but this island is not exactly the biggest lure for demons. Most people around here have good natured souls."

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Sasuke shift uncomfortably but he brushed it aside as nothing. Instead he shook his head, focusing on Naruto.

"There are plenty of nice mortals in the world that go their entire lives without much of any sinning without the coaxing of a fallen. But a true soul is different. Unlike other mortals, they are not drawn to our influences. They could be surrounded by a hundred demons and not feel the draw of temptation to do their bidding. Same goes for angels as well. They are, in a sense, immune to us." He looked at Sasuke. "It would explain why she could break away from your sharingan. It was not that your hold was not good enough, it was because she had a true choice. I would imagine she would be immune to any sharingan for that matter."

The relief Sasuke felt with that information was surprising. And it was not just the fact that it meant he was not weak, it was the fact that she was safe from any other sharingan holder.

"That is so cool!" Naruto crowed.

"Perhaps," Kakashi agreed with a slightly grey tone. "But it also means that she will be sought after all the more."

Sasuke's eyes snapped to Kakashi, his eyes alert with apprehension. "What do you mean sought after? And by whom?"

"True souls are extremely valuable. A single true soul would be the same worth of a hundred others. Meaning whomever claimed her would be granted a great amount of advantage," Kakashi explained. "For example, if a rogue seraph were to claim her soul, they could live for over a millennia without having to claim any other soul during that time without their powers or life forces weakening."

At this he saw Sasuke's already pale face grow ashen.

"Hang on," Naruto interrupted. "I thought you said a true soul couldn't be influenced by anyone. So how would anyone be able to claim it?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto who was giving him a skeptical expression, then to Sasuke who looked slightly relieved at Naruto's point.

"She cannot be influenced but she can still choose."

"Psh," Naruto waved away Kakashi's words. "Then there is nothing to worry about. Sakura would never give her soul to some rogue. She is nice but she isn't stupid. And why would anyone choose to let their soul go to the demons? No offense," he quickly added to Sasuke who glared, but gave no counter remark.

There was nothing to say in defense. What mortal would choose an eternal damnation of misery over the eternal peace and serenity that the heavens provided? Sasuke looked at Kakashi, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Naruto's right." He said the words with difficulty but managed them all the same. "Sakura is a good person. She cares for others and would never hurt another person intentionally. She is innocent and kind and she would never change. She's too stubborn." His last words were more to himself than anyone.

"Let us hope that you are right then," Kakashi replied. "But in the meantime, I wouldn't go around telling others about her," he warned.

No response came from either boy but he hoped they took his warning to heart. He could see that they each held Sakura in close regards. Which was good for the mortal girl. She would need as much protection as she could get if she was a true pure.

The counterpart of a true pure, were not as coveted. Their souls were just as priceless but those on the market for such souls were limited. Angels had no interest in tainting the god tree, and the inherently evil attributes of a true pure's counterpart would automatically find its own way to the statue of outer path, thus negating the needed pursuit from a fallen. This only left rogues, but those souls were dangerous to a rogue. A rogue seraph was just as susceptible to being consumed by a true evil as he was in claiming said soul. But a true pure. That was an entirely different market.

There was something about corrupting the incorruptible that demons loved. Therefore, if Sakura truly was a true pure, and word was to get out of her existence, every rogue seraph would be swarming this country side. It was an unspoken rule that true souls were left alone. Like a true evil, their natural affinities would ensure their souls would find their way without the guidance of a seraph. A true pure returned automatically to the god tree without the need to be collected, thus nullifying a seraphs purpose to collect them. But Kakashi had no doubt, that if Madara himself were to get word of her, he would send an army, or worse, come to collect her himself.

While immune to influence, she could still choose if given the right motive. Kakashi had seen the unfortunate occurrences of mortals torturing each other to the point of begging for death. A seraph could do the same and so much more for the chance to claim such a soul. Sakura may be defiant to Sasuke, but Sasuke did not seek any ill intent towards her. She was strong willed, she would have to be if she could resist the powers of a sharingan, but even the strong had a breaking point.

It surprised him that she was not assigned a guardian angel to protect her already. But then again, perhaps it was unnecessary seeing as how fate had already bestowed protection upon her. He looked at Naruto, his sunny features scrunched with thought. He was perhaps too hot headed and impatient, but he took those flaws and let them fuel his bravery and dedication.

Kakashi then looked to Sasuke. His attention was pointed to where Sakura had disappeared to, giving only his profile to be examined. There was very little written on his features but Kakashi had seen enough today to know that he too cared for the well-being of Sakura.

"I'm going," Sasuke suddenly announced.

"What!? But we are not done with our training!" Naruto protested.

Sasuke's wings burst from his back. "I'm bored," he stated. "And I have more important things to do."

As he took off into the air Kakashi could not help but smile as Naruto sputtered out insults that went ignored by their target. Yes, it seemed Sakura would be alright. With Sasuke and Naruto watching out for her, she would be okay. For he could not think of two other seraphs more dedicated to their goals. And if keeping Sakura safe was a goal of theirs, they would see it out.

But even as he watched Sasuke fly towards his destination that Kakashi was certain would possess a rosette mortal, a sinking feeling of doubt seeped beneath his skin. It was a simple task keeping her safe, and as long as it stayed simple he had no reason to fear. But life was not simple, especially when mortals and immortals mixed. Already they had a complexity. What other complexities would arise and how quickly? It was those thoughts that left Kakashi wary.

He did not wish anything upon the charming young woman. But that was perhaps the problem. She was a charming young woman that had managed to make even the most indifferent person he knew care.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and before they knew it almost an entire year had passed by since the two immortals first met their little mortal. Since the day they went to the view point, Sasuke's presence became more frequent. As always Naruto and Sakura's relationship continued to flourish into a warm and comfortable friendship.

While he knew their bond was strictly platonic, Sasuke could not help but always wonder and question the bond between angel and the mortal. Each time this questioning was renewed, he was filled with a confusion to how he felt. At first he thought it was because of the ultimate disappointment it would lead to, but as time grew on, he could not help but notice his competitive resentment growing with each passing day. In the end, Sasuke decided to write it off as a part of the rivalry between himself and Naruto as there were more important things to worry about.

It was not often, but Sasuke had crossed paths with several more rough seraphim wandering the countryside of the island. He had yet to come across Suigetsu again, but there was no telling if these additional rogues were part of Orichimaru's followers. Whether they were or not, it did not matter. Because they never had the chance to return to whatever dank hole they had originally crawled from. Sasuke had seen to it that their fates ended long before the thought could ever cross their minds.

It was a temperate spring day. The cloudy sky and the occasional glimpse of the sun left a warmth upon one's skin that brought about a sleepiness as the soft breeze that shifted through the tall grass kept one from becoming overheated.

The trio were camped out in the middle of an abandoned field. Both Naruto and Sasuke were laid out on their backs as they relaxed in the afternoon warmth. Sakura sat with her legs tucked neatly to the side, her dress spread out across the green blades of grass as she gathered flowers and wove them into a fragrant crown.

Sasuke let his chest rise and fall in relaxed breaths as he listened to the light humming from Sakura as she sat by his and Naruto's heads. Another wave of air rushed across the long grass causing it to rustle and drown out Sakura's melody and disrupt his already unruly hair. As the breeze died down, Sakura's humming had been replaced with a small giggle and he noticed the light from the sun penetrating through his closed lids had dimmed. Something tickled his cheek then his nose.

Cracking a single eye open, he found himself face to face with an upside down Sakura as she leaned over his head. The bright green of her eyes were highlighted by the fresh green stems of colorful crown of flowers that decorated her already, colorful and flowing hair. In her hand, she held a piece of grass that was poised above his nose. He glared at the source of the irritant tickle.

She moved to tickle his face again but he was too fast for her. In a swift movement he snatched the blade of grass from her hand and crushed it.

"Hey!" she protested.

It had taken a while for her to even dare such an action but over the past year, such actions had become normal from Sakura. He would never admit it, but it pleased him.

"Go back to your flower weaving," Sasuke grunted as he shut his eyes again.

Instead of finding herself more flowers, Sakura instead began to run her hands through his hair. A pleased hum nearly escaped his throat but Sasuke caught himself just in time.

"There aren't anymore flowers in this area," she complained. "We need to move to another spot."

"Hn," Sasuke let out, his hum lacking any empathy.

He was not about to let the soothing petting cease. So instead, he shifted himself until his head fell into her lap. For a moment he felt her stiffen and her hand froze mid stroke. He could still feel her fingers trapped in the tangles of his hair. For one bated breath, he panicked. He had never initiated contact with her that was inessential of purpose. And he only 'tolerated' any contact that she made because he needed her to get comfortable around him.

He was just about to sit up and move away when her hand moved again and he felt her slightly relax. As soon as her hands began running through his hair, all the worries of overstepping his boundaries vanished. Pushing the boundaries he had set up at the beginning was something that had been occurring more and more frequently. The distinct lines he had drawn were becoming smudged so thinly, they could hardly be considered lines anymore. And these fading lines were not the worst part.

What worried him the most, was the ever growing lack of concern he had for the disappearing lines themselves. He had set those lines in place to make sure he did not become too involved. It was not a seraphs purpose to sympathize with mortals. It was a weakness.

"Do they not have combs in the underworld?" Sakura suddenly asked as she tugged on a piece of his hair.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and glared up at her as Naruto burst into a fit of laughter. A swift kick of Sasuke's leg caused the angel to quickly change his tune. Naruto grumbled and whined and Sasuke watched Sakura's attention move to the whining seraph. From his position in her lap, he could not make out her entire features but he watched as her head tilted to the side as if in thought.

"You know your hair is not any better Naruto," she commented. "And Kakashi's is a mess as well. Do seraphs in general just not know of the concept of grooming?"

Naruto's whining ceased as he crossed his arms and began pouting. Sakura shook her head and looked back down at Sasuke. She paused upon finding him already watching her.

With the sun haloed over her head, he could not ignore the fact that she looked like the images he had seen many civilizations paint when depicting their heavenly deities. She was still smiling demurely from her earlier amusement and her green dress reflected and highlighted her eyes making them look lush and full of life.

She was beautiful.

The statement flashed across his mind faster than he could deflect such thoughts. But even as it registered, he could not deny nor refute it. It was the truth. She was stunning at that moment.

After awhile, he found himself looking past her green irises to beyond the anatomy of her eye to where her soul lay. It was the first time he had ever done this, looked directly into her soul.

When any seraph looked at a mortal, demon or angel, one could usually see a partial glimpse of the essence of the soul. Each mortal emitted a general feeling of where they lay upon the alignment of morality. But to truly get an accurate reading, one would have to look through the windows of the soul.

Their eyes.

Anytime Sasuke had attempted this on Sakura, he found himself so lost he never managed to make it this deep. Or in other cases like their first encounter, she had resisted him. But today, he felt no resistance, no hesitation. She was letting him in. Consciously she would be unaware of this. It would seem like a few seconds to her mortal mind but for him, it felt like an eternity as he gazed upon her soul.

It too was beautiful. The shimmering essence of golden light swirled untarnished and wholesome. It was breathtaking. He had never seen a soul so pure. Immediately Kakashi's words of warning from three seasons ago came to his mind. At first he had been skeptical of Kakashi's proclamation that she was a true soul. He had never heard of such a thing.

Despite his lack of belief, he had still taken full precaution to the warning that she needed to be protected. But now that he gazed upon her soul, he found himself becoming a true believer.

This was a soul to be desired.

A strange feeling crept into his mind then slithered down to his pulsing heart. He was a demon. It was he who was supposed to be the tempter. But as he gazed upon her soul, it was he who felt the pull of desire.

He wanted that soul.

He wanted to possess it, to hold it, to capture it and never let it go.

He jerked up and in a blur he had put himself on the opposite side of the small circle they had created in the grass. His chest raggedly expanded and compressed as his heart thundered within his rib cage. Both Sakura and Naruto were looking at him with wide eyes. Perspiration formed on his skin as the heat of his earlier feelings caught up with him.

"Sasuke," Naruto called as he sat up from his laid back position. "Are you okay? Your eyes are kind of wigging out."

It was then that he became aware of the discomfort in his eyes as they flickered back and forth between black and red. He blinked furiously, trying to regain control until he felt as if he were going cross eyed. He let out a growl, and rubbed them vigorously with the heel of his palm.

"Sasuke?"

The quiet sound of her voice made him still. With restrained movement, he looked up at Sakura. She was still sitting on the ground like before but her face was crumpled into concern. He saw her move. Untucking her legs as she moved to stand.

"I have to go," he quickly excused. Both Sakura and Naruto were standing now. He heard Naruto ask him what was wrong but he was distracted by Sakura's movement as she took a step towards him. "Don't come near me," he growled, causing her to pause.

He saw a flash of hurt confusion run across her eyes as her head flinched back at his harsh tone. He wanted to comfort her, to assure her it was not her, it was him. But that would be a lie. It was her fault. Never in his life had he ever been compelled to collect a soul outside of duty and never had he been tempted to keep one for himself.

For the past summer, autumn, and winter, he had been watching her. At first it was to gather answers, but after Suigetsu's appearance and Kakashi's warning, it had changed. His motivations and actions had been more out of protection than observation. He had been prepared to defend her from the worst. Been ready to face Orochimaru himself if he or any of his cronies showed an interest in her.

But never, never in the three full seasons that he had known her, had he thought it would be he who would be the danger.

With that realization he lept into the air. The wind whistled against his ears and the change in air pressure became nearly painful, but he did not slow. He needed space. He needed to clear his mind and stay focused on his task. He had been careless and let his mission to find what was so intriguing get side tracked. But now it seemed he had accomplished that.

He had found out what it was about her that drew his curiosity. Her soul. Her perfect and pure soul. Now that he knew, he could be rid of her. That is what he had promised himself before and that is what he would do.

It was just unfortunate that fate was against him. Because as soon as he began to make a decent towards the portal that would seal him in the world beneath her world, he felt a tug. It was gentle and small but it was persistent and promising. In the back of his mind he could hear the whispering of fate as it gave the solid promise that this was far from done.