Beyond Hearts and Minds, a fanfic by XyoushaX, Chapter 15

Author's Notes: Wow, 200 reviews. Thank you! I guess labeling a story with a pairing helps — my last story had no official pairing stated in the summary. Romance attracts people.

Sakura had no idea what to say, as she stood in a tree watching the scene. Hinata and Naruto were down there, in the Forest of Death — and Sasuke. With a tree-youkai. Talk about a difficult situation.

The pink-haired kunoichi gulped. Minor demons, she could handle. That mutated tree was probably an underling seed; it was still not fully developed. She'd mosey down there and carry on with the calming jutsu. Pull out the seedling, and everything done.

Except that in this situation, it would be in the presence of humans. And not only that, ninja of her own village. And not only that, they were her friends! They would call her a freak, a witch, a...

Sakura inhaled sharply as the tree branch paralyzed Sasuke. The tree-youkai caught him, and lifted him up like some rag-doll. Damn it, wasn't Sasuke supposed to be a genius in the shinobi arts? Well, shinobi arts and demon-slaying each required slightly different skills, but they were similar enough!

'Damn it, Sasuke...' Sakura trembled. 'Fight it, please. Don't make me come down there.'

Sakura's fingers quivered as she watched the deep touch. She knew exactly what the demon was doing, and it was sure as hell not trying to give Sasuke pleasure, or any positive emotion. In fact, it wanted to absorb the negative ones. And the pain he had felt through his whole life would be perfect for this demon.

Sasuke's body sprawled on the ground, his dark eyes dilated and lifeless. A shout of anger escaped Naruto.

A sheathed katana warped in front of Sakura. She felt the presence of Minoru's aura behind her — so that's how it worked.

Without further thought, Sakura plucked the hovering weapon from the air. The instant her fingers laced over the hilt, a river of memories rushed into her — all the skills and techniques she had experienced with this blade. That phantasmagorical review-session from the unknown illusionist, she finally decided, turned out to be worthwhile.

The katana named Tennyo slid out cleanly from the scabbard. "Heavenly Maiden. It's been a while." Sakura raised it up.

Naruto ran to Sasuke's prone form. "Sasuke!" he snarled. He checked Sasuke's vital signs — breathing and pulse were there. He sensed a branch coming. The ninja tried to pull his best friend up to get him out of the tree's way, but Sasuke's body seemed to weigh a ton. Naruto cursed. The blond ninja made a couple of hand-seals, and swiped the air directly above Sasuke.

Lines of pure white electricity shot out from Naruto's palm, like a web from a spider. A dome formed around and encased Sasuke's body. Naruto jumped away before a branch whipped at him — it hit the electric coffin instead, and immediately recoiled with the burn.

Naruto then saw one tree limb bend down, as if sagging from extra weight. The leaves had taken a rock-like appearance, a collection of crystal knives. "Shit. More projectiles."

Hinata shifted into the Jyuuken stance. "Naruto-kun, I think I can do it now," she called out. "I can see Uchiha-san's hitodama." The instant Sasuke's hitodama had been swallowed, it traveled into what finally could be called the gut of the youkai. That was what the monster's own soul was, if it could be called a soul. Hinata still was confused about the metaphysics of a demon, but she had no time to think on the matter. Sasuke needed his soul in his rightful body, as quickly as possible.

Naruto suddenly felt a burst of cold energy approaching him from behind. It snaked around his ankles, the legs, and pinned him on the ground. 'Hey, that was way too fast!' When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw that his feet were securely glued to the ground by ice. Ice? Trees couldn't control ice; they would burst with the swelling of freezing water. And the aura permeating the ice... screamed of EVIL.

Well, a lesser evil. 'Lowly?' Naruto thought with a snort. 'Are you talking about the ice, or the tree... or you? I had no idea you could curse yourse—' With fury, Kyuubi's energy thudded in the vessel. "Urgh!" He had only been kidding!

Naruto tried desperately to cover himself, to hide the nature of his changing aura. He didn't want to show himself to Hinata with red canine eyes, fangs, and ugly facial scars. After the fight with Neji years back, Naruto found out that Hinata had passed out during the last part of the battle, right before he tapped into the fox-demon's chakra (which had been the most critical part of the whole dual!). The thought of explaining to his girlfriend, exactly what kind of monstrosity resided within him: it terrified more than any S-rank criminal. The recent revelation that she was a holy, shaman-like being — the Priestess of Souls — it probably would curse their relationship.

Hinata was near him. But she was the Priestess. He was trapped in ice. But she needed protection.

With a shout, Naruto let off a huge burst of blue aura. The force shattered the ice into a million pieces, and warmth rushed back into his numb legs. As his chakra died out, a wisp of red momentarily showed before flickering out completely.

Naruto turned his face toward his girlfriend, and saw something flail around her feet. "Hinata-chan, watch out!"

Hinata peeped as a flexible knar wrapped around her ankle. It pulled her quickly down to the ground; she did not even have time to scream. She lashed out her leg to kick it off — only to find that it had already disappeared. She did not see the vine crawling back into its hole in the ground behind her leg.

Before Naruto and Hinata realized it, half of the canopy crashed down, split away from the main tree-youkai. The hardened black leaves shattered with impact; their dark aura sizzled out before scattering into bits of crumbled dry leaf. Some of the branches above the electricity barrier around Sasuke were fried with the touch, and those which were not completely burnt away rolled off.

A second whip echoed. Naruto and Hinata held onto the ground as the gust of wind passed like a group of furies.

A diagonal cut suddenly opened up on the feminine-shaped miasma. The form screamed. It slowed down to a gurgle. The dark muck dribbled out of the tree's hollow, and hissed out as it touched the ground.

"A wind jutsu, I think. Gaara's older sister can do that with a kamaitachi," he answered. Naruto looked around for the source, expecting ninja from the Hidden Sand Village to reveal themselves. He paused. "...Where did Sasuke's hitodama go?"

A raven-haired boy sat within darkness. His eyes were blank. He could hear voices.

Sasuke raised a palm to his forehead. How in the world did he get here? It was unfamiliar in a real-life manner; he never remembered being in a place like this. Even the darkest of caves, into which Orochimaru shoved him for training, had more light and sound.

(("But, the conversations in here alone... When he talks to me, your father only talks about you. And because of that... he's always awkward with you."))

But as those voices — no, memories — permeated Sasuke's subconsciousness, they grew louder. And louder.

Sasuke's hands gripped tighter on his shoulders. He had felt this, heard this, countless times before... whether it was dream, or illusion. He had to brace himself for the onslaught.

(("Foolish little brother... If you want to kill me, then hate me! Despise me! And then live in an unsightly way..."))

"Go away," Sasuke growled. Yet the voices came, over and over... "Go AWAY!" he shouted.

A woman's voice, sultry and comforting, entered the domain. Slowly, the phrases Sasuke had ingrained in his mind over the years — he felt them pulled out, strand by strand. 'Your pain, is my pleasure.'

The voice gave a gentle laugh at his suspicion. 'No, I am not a sadist. I am a spirit which takes away bad memories.'

Sasuke felt strange. He did not feel any better, now that he thought about it. It was obvious that his problems were still with him. He shivered within the darkness. 'I can take it a step further, if you permit me. Don't you want to rest from your hard life? It is easy, and peaceful, over on the other side.'

Sasuke blinked. Other side? What in the world was she talking about? He couldn't think straight. 'Just envelope yourself. Let down the defenses around your soul. I can ease your—'

The voice turned into an ear-splitting cry, as if the speaker had suddenly been attacked.

The environment around Sasuke shattered apart. But instead of the blackness, where it was at least safe and closed from the outside world, Sasuke was plunged into an overwhelming bright light. It was too sterile and empty. His support crumbled; he was falling.

And something caught him. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his chest from behind.

Her palms glowed with a distinct pink aura, as she held a sphere of shimmering blue light: the manifestation of her friend's soul.

She really needed more practice. On the first try with her sword attack, she had almost crushed Naruto and Hinata by slashing the tree-youkai in the wrong place. The second swing landed a blade of air, deep and powerful enough to split the miasma in half and free Sasuke's essence — but the wind that came with the attack blasted it away. Sakura was forced to run after and catch the hitodama, like a child awkwardly chasing a firefly.

Her kendo and iaido needed more finesse. She had to adjust her power input with those blasts — the fatigue overwhelmed her now. Adding further inconvenience, it seemed like an ANBU troop was headed this way.

Minoru touched the ground likewise. "We distracted his teammates right before you sent in your attack," the blond said. "You had good aim for a veteran." He waited for Sakura to release the hitodama of her former teammate, to throw it back to its original body. Instead, she seemed to hesitate. "...Sakura-san?"

Sakura's emerald eyes blinked. For a moment there, she had sworn that she felt some sort of gentle touch on her face and neck, as if someone had been embracing her. The imaginary gesture had been with so much passion, and need...

The medical ninja shook her head. It was her mind playing tricks on her. "Of course, Minoru-san." Carefully, her glowing palms drew apart, slowly letting go the sphere that composed of Sasuke's inner being. The young lady carefully shot some gentle aura against it — in the direction of where Naruto and Hinata were. With a good push, any hitodama would automatically seek out the original body and reunite with it.

Three seconds after take-off, Sasuke's essence did something totally unexpected: it swerved a U-turn in the air.

What was even more bizarre was when the sphere of light edged itself towards the fading glow of Sakura's hands. It trailed onto her cheek and throat.

"Wha...?" Sakura's face flushed with the sudden warmth. She had never seen a hitodama act like this before. The sphere caressed the skin around her neck. It rolled lower, and lower...

Minoru sniggered. Potamos squealed. "Aw, that's so cute! Sasuke's so enthusiastic to bury himself within Sacchan's breasts, even though his body is almost in a coma..."

"He's going into my hands because of the calming jutsu," Sakura explained to Potamos through gritted teeth. "My hands just so happened to be near my chest!" She pushed the hitodama upward: it did not sever contact. Slowly, the kunoichi felt the discomfort slowly turning into a sweet pleasure. It was like a fluffy ball of warmth, although Sakura also noticed some bitter sparks planted in it at various places.

Privately, Minoru theorized that it was both the magic and Sakura's aura which attracted Sasuke's psyche to her. Her invention of a calming technique probably gave something of a temporary shelter for the boy's otherwise rigid personality.

Sakura gave the hitodama another push. It was kind of cute, she had to admit, that a part of Sasuke could act like a buoyant furball of a pet — but he seriously needed to take control of his own life again. Revenge and clan and blah, blah, blah.

A shot of pain went through Sakura's head. Her knees hit the ground. Potamos quickly came to her side, holding her steady. "Sacchan?"

"Chakra shortage," Minoru quickly identified. Even though she had taken a Hyourougan earlier in the day, Sakura completely drained herself — doing the Kanashibari of several genin in the morning, and reawakening her wide array of personal jutsu at midnight. "I will check on Sasuke from a distance to confirm his health."

"Thank you, Minoru-san," Sakura whispered. The blond elf's green form disappeared into the trees.

"Damn it," Naruto growled. His head darted to and fro in search of a glowing sphere of light — more specifically, Sasuke's own soul. The hyperactive ninja was pissed that the hitodama just decided to disappear from a gust of wind. "I had thought you tougher than that, Sasuke!" his voice shot through the forest.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called. Naruto turned around. His girlfriend kneeled at Sasuke's body, with something floated dimly from above. The hitodama.

'How in the world did I miss that?' Naruto wondered. He saw the glowing blue sphere descend into Sasuke's limp form.

Sasuke's eyes slowly blinked open. The images of Hinata and Naruto appeared above him. He slowly got up — Hinata allowed this, as she had already checked for a possible head or neck injury.

"...Like a Chidori just ripped through me," Sasuke finally mumbled out. The young man felt a sudden, unexplainable need for sedatives.

Sasuke rubbed his face. Indeed, he was exhausted. After that youkai's miasma grabbed a hold of him and — well, touched him on the mouth... Wait, what happened again? It was like waking up from a nightmare. He was sure that he had dreamt of something very frightening...

And then something very warm, beautiful, and comforting. That part was also horrific, now that he thought about it. From bits and pieces of his weak memory, it seemed like he had been embracing someone — and liking it! How utterly absurd, he decided. The thought itself was terrible.

Whatever it was, thank God that it had only been a dream. Which taunted his low, drab existence. Part of Sasuke was relieved that harsh reality kicked him back in the face; he had to keep his mind straight. Yet it also saddened him that it was only a dream. He looked at his hands, caked with black ashes of the tree-youkai.

The tree now looked like it had been struck by lightning. Only a charred trunk remained, with a couple of remaining branches that poked out lengths meager to their former glory.

Hinata walked up to the dead tree, and looked in the hollow. When she saw nothing of a glint, she reached in and dug her fingers into the small heap of cinders. Her hands raked through, and found nothing. 'If the thing that infected this tree was the Hardened Soul, it might have been destroyed...' she thought. 'But somehow, I don't think the item was ever here in the first place.'

Naruto wiped the dripped sweat off his forehead. He lightly tugged on his shirt, making it peel off from his damp back. "Holy shit, that was a workout. Now we'd better get back to the village before—"

"YOU! What are you doing there?" a voice shouted from above. Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto froze, and looked up. Several of the ANBU had their arms crossed as they surveyed the three from above.

Three ANBU guards savagely pinned Sasuke to the ground. They did the same to Naruto and Hinata, albeit more gently.

Sasuke's eyes gazed over the katana pointed at his face. Having a history with Orochimaru, he decided, occasionally had its downsides. One of the ANBU — probably the captain of the squad, Naruto decided — motioned his men to get off of Sasuke, as the raven-haired chuunin was putting up no resistance. Jeez, some people could hold grudges. "What the hell happened here?" the captain asked.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at the girl. Hinata had said it so honestly without hesitation, not even contemplating how ridiculous it sounded. Hinata gulped as the soldiers stared at her, remaining silent.

'Naruto is supposed to be the one who states the bluntly obvious or the absurd without thinking.' Sasuke kept his face cool as the ANBU looked at them in a very skeptical way. 'I guess his traits rubbed off on her...'

"...I... I understand that it sounds very unusual!" Hinata stammered out. "But I need to talk to Tsunade-sama!"

"Do you realize," one of them said in a low tone, "That you are in forbidden territory? Especially when the Chuunin Exams are being held?" He turned towards Naruto and Sasuke. Ah, Kakashi's infamous Team Seven. One was the Kyuubi vessel and trained by the perverted Jiraiya, the other was the Uchiha heir and trained by Orochimaru, who was also a pervert (but in a more atrocious sense).

Naruto gave a loud "HELL NO!" He took a few breaths. "Don't you dare think of Sakura-chan cheating — and listen to Hinata-chan, because she's telling the truth!" Naruto exclaimed. The fox-boy glared at the ANBU with confident, clear blue eyes, as if mentally telling them that he actually had authority on this one.

"Alpha. Sigma." Two of the ANBU turned their hooded heads to the squadron leader when he addressed them. "Escort these three out of this forest. Take them to Hokage-sama, as they've done a misdemeanor, at the very least."

Sasuke felt the two silently touch the ground behind him. "We can handle jumping through the trees alone," Sasuke said.

"Hinata is drained of chakra," Naruto pointed out. Sasuke glared. One of the guards stepped forward to help the girl, but Naruto halted him. "Don't. I'm gonna carry her."

"You mean, you want to carry her," the other corrected. Before he got a verbal answer, Naruto had already hoisted Hinata up in a piggy-back and jumped through the trees. The cute squeak of the girl's voice echoed faintly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before taking off to the trees.. "That idiot is not going to be Hokage if he clings to her like that," the raven-haired chuunin muttered.

The other masked ninja appeared next to Sasuke in the air. "I think he might, because of clinging to her," the guard said. Sasuke turned his head slightly. He raised an eyebrow at this comment. "Each and every Hokage believed that when you're protecting something precious to you, that is when you're the strongest. Even your mentor, Kakashi," — Sasuke swore that a low 'that time-consuming pervert' slipped in — "drilled into us the importance of remembering what you protect. That's what makes you strong."

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed. He still wasn't sure which side was correct. Naruto, the ANBU member to the side of him, and all the Hokage had an ideal — which Sasuke truly wanted to believe in. Yet the memory of Itachi, and the logic of any murderer seemed to say otherwise.

In any case, Sasuke was not going to speak up his personal opinion. Instead, he asked: "Does this mean I'm out of the ANBU-training?"

The ANBU member said nothing for a while. As he kicked off another tree, he again spoke up. "My captain likes having crazy people like you in his classes." He felt Sasuke twitch next to him. "Yep. That person who yelled at you is the head-trainer."

'My image can't sink any further,' Sasuke thought. 'Damn you, Naruto, for dragging me into this!'

Sakura shivered. She lay down on the ground to rest, a log as her pillow. A petite form with curled pigtails crouched above, keeping watch like a nighthawk.

"No problemo!" the water-demon answered. Potamos sat on a branch, dangling her legs. "I know you'll take over later another time. And I don't need sleep as frequently as your specie, anyway."

"I don't even know if I belong to a specie," Sakura murmured, slowly drifting off to sleep. After tonight's long shift, she could fall asleep anywhere, even against a log in this cold night. "Be careful of leeches..."

"Don't worry! Because water expands when it freezes, whatever leech I see I'm gonna zap — and poom! It's exploded!"

"I know..." Sakura's hands loosely wrapped around Tennyo, and held the sheathed katana close to her bodice. The pink-haired kunoichi slowly drifted off.

Potamos watched in contentment as her old friend fell into peaceful slumber: although Sakura had developed physically, she still could pull off a cherub-like face while at rest. Even her pink hair strew around her head like a halo. 'And why does she not have a boyfriend again?' Potamos asked herself. 'Man, she is a PIECE, if I do say so myself... as a girl, of course.' She giggled as kinky thoughts danced through her brain.

Minoru walked upon the scene. He looked up at Potamos. "The ANBU suspect something. They will still be around for at least one more day, so keep a hold of your powers."

The water-demon gave a pout. "Pooey. I wanted to freeze a few more humans. And who do they think they are, wearing masks that look like animals? They can't even sculpt a cat-face right!"

"It's a minor inconvenience for us, yes. But also for those planting those seedlings." Minoru held up a long, tube-like object. "By the way, I found another team. That makes seven scrolls." He tucked it within the folds of his clothing.

Minoru walked to Sakura's sleeping form, and knelt down to examine her. Her breath was quiet, slow and paced. He somehow willed himself to reach out, and touch the side of her cheek. 'She's grown so much. So beautiful...'

At the foreign touch, Sakura's green eyes shot open. Alarm went through Minoru's thoughts.

The young lady drew out Tennyo from her sheath, and pushed it forward against the other's throat.

"Sakura-san, it's me!" the blond elf exclaimed, holding back Sakura's hands which held the sword. The blade quivered a few centimeters away from his neck.

Her mouth partially opened with the sudden realization. Minoru's hands loosened from her own. The kunoichi slid Tennyo back into her scabbard. "Oh God... I'm so sorry, Minoru-san!" Sakura's green eyes trailed onto the ground, ashamed. "It was so automatic for me, I didn't realize—"

"No harm done," Minoru soothed. "That's actually a good skill, that you can detect other people's aura so quickly. Although, I'd wish you'd memorize mine." Sakura's cheeks burned. The blond elf was now wrapping his overcoat around the both of them. The cloak was too long by ninja standards, but it suited Minoru's needs just fine. "It also shows that your iaido — the sword-drawing art — is beginning to reawaken."

"Um... Minoru-san..." Sakura shifted within his embrace. "How long are you going to hug me like this?"

"It's so that you can sleep warmly." The blonde tugged on the material so that it covered Sakura more adequately. "I don't mind at all holding you. Good night."

Sakura's heart beat madly. His body and cloak felt like heaven. She realized that her head was against his torso — she remembered that incident a few years ago, when she treated a wound on his chest. He was beautiful. And he treated her so comfortably now. It felt a long time ago when one of her parents actually tucked her into bed.

His thumb touched Sakura's forehead. A stream of elfin words rolled off his tongue. "I bless you with sweet dreams." At the melodious incantation, Sakura fell into a deep sleep.

"Fuckin' shit!" Hirosuke pounded his fist on the side of a log. It made a dent in the wood — a waft of strange aura hissed out from the site. The ninja from the Hidden Village of Waterfall lashed out against the block of wood. It did not matter to him that he was wasting chakra, right on the second morning of the exams. He was going to pound the hell out of the log to let off steam. He could also redirect his anger to things other than people, thank you very much.

Callous turned to bruises. Bruises turned into open skin. Each added crater on the log had more moisture, more red.

"Hirosuke, please stop that." Chie walked on the scene, holding a cup of water. She presented it to the sweat-bathed Hirosuke, who took it gratefully. "Don't worry about that seedling. I don't mind. We still have enough."

Hirosuke turned away. The sweat on his scalp began to run down, coating his bangs and making them stick to his hitai-ate. He wiped them away. "Who said I wanted your approval?" the Taki-nin scoffed.

A brief flash of indignation went through Chie. "I can't help it if those things are subsidized," she murmured, turning away. The black rosary beads on her wrist clicked with the swinging movement of her arm. "Just know that I won't give you any of my own."

"Of course." Hirosuke looked at his bloodied knuckles. The wounds, opening up, clotting, and opening up again — even the pain was getting too rampant. The Taki-nin dug into his chest, and pulled out an inrou, a wooden box held together by cords. Usually only samurai used these; ninja needed cases which were compact and closer to the body. But in his case, he possessed an item which needed more protection than a thin layer of leather. Hirosuke pulled the inrou apart, and shook out its contents.

A bluish-purple marble rolled on Hirosuke's hand. The spherical jewel touched the marred skin over his knuckles: the crushed flesh began to heal at an unnatural rate, until only impeccable skin remained. After testing the joints of his previous-self-battered hand, Hirosuke put the jewel back into the inrou. He tucked the case back into his fishnet undershirt.

"Koujirou saw a brief glimpse of a person, right before you left," Chie mentioned. "It might be the Priestess."

The girl with black hair resisted the urge to hit Hirosuke: Koujirou was her good friend. She breathed. "When Koujirou checked the scene after you left, he saw something of a free hitodama. He saw two hands catch it." Hirosuke looked up with sudden interest. Chie spoke further: "Koujirou had to leave quickly to not be found out, so he only had a glimpse."

Hirosuke scoffed at the disappointing report, and proceeded to take the last gulp of water from his cup.

The water in Hirosuke's mouth drabbled out. When he heard Chie laugh slightly, he glared at her.

"Pink hair," she said, her grin relaxing. "There's only one person with that color in these exams."

A shiver of excitement traveled through Hirosuke. "Well," he mumbled. "I certainly had a high opinion of her at the start. She puts up a match against you, both in personality and looks." His hand reached out for Chie's waist. "Even when we have such a deep relationship..."

She slapped his hand away. "Don't make such assumptions, you disgusting molester!" Chie snarled. "I was never your—"

She made a frightened gasp as Hirosuke laced a tight hold on her wrist. The gleam of insanity in his eyes immediately silenced the girl. One of his fingers traced over her rosary, which she had tied around her left hand. "These beads," Hirosuke mumbled. "They're the only things keeping your body beautiful and whole. Aren't they?"

Chie twisted her arm away. She gave a defiant glare in response to his threat. "Don't think I won't put up a fight."

Hirosuke laughed. "Of course. Although, I would enjoy the look on Koujirou's face if he ever finds you—"

"Let's just get to the tower!" Chie interrupted. "We'll try to pick up some on the way."

Hirosuke watched the scared and insulted Chie walk off. That had been fun. To be serious, he wouldn't take it that far on her. Chie was technically the squad's leader, even though Hirosuke never chose her to be. And a girl he already knew probably would not taste as good.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If I suck, by all means tell me. In an intelligent manner.

This fanfic is complete.

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Beyond Hearts and Minds

Chapter 15: Keeping Up Appearances