(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Notes: This chapter is short, but intense. And things
are not always what they seem at first glance.
Sasuke watched the green-cloaked stranger gracefully skip up the trees.
He immediately followed charging in. The Uchiha's speed increased at least
two-fold with the second level of the curse. His body was, bluntly put,
a monster now.
'I might have to fight this oni... youkai, whatever,' the cloaked person
thought. She pulled off the lightweight cloak, and slung it over her shoulder
— revealing the face of Haruno Sakura. Her hair was tied back, although
a few locks of pink freely swayed in the air. "It seems like I have to
fight another demon," she said in a grave tone.
Sasuke flinched as he heard her voice. It was strangely familiar. And
her eyes were unbelievably cold. Something told him inside that they were
not supposed to be like that. Green eyes, especially this girl's — they
usually were warm and kind.
But how could he know for sure, considering that he did not even know
himself?
'So this is the obstacle Scarlett-sensei warned me about,' the kunoichi
thought. She carefully controlled her breathing to preserve her own stamina
and chakra. The flavor of the monster's aura through the air was strong,
a terrifying purple. And the transformation that this thing underwent:
'It must have been a person before,' Sakura thought.
Her hand gripped Tennyo's hilt. 'And why is its aura so familiar?'
The kunoichi was very nervous of facing off against a monster of this
dimension, but by no means was she terrified. The practice in the other
world paid off. No matter how modestly humanoid it was, Sakura had no scruples
against killing a dark being with bat wings. She had to live, for the sake
of her parents and friends in Konoha. And she certainly would not let the
efforts of Momoko's team, especially Scarlett's, go to waste.
((Amano Takurou pointed at the computer monitor. "Sakura, the quickest
way to your village is to send you to this point. I updated the teleportation
system, and your chakra control is perfect. So I calculate your landing
will be quiet and graceful." The scientist gave off a wry smile. "Not like
that crater Yousuke made when he barged into the Shinobi World to fetch
you."
"Shut up," Yousuke growled, earning giggles from Momoko and her teammates
behind him.
Sakura swallowed nervously as she studied the map. "A two-hour walk
from Konoha, northwest... I should be able to handle that area."
"From what you tell me of security there, you might be attacked by your
own village's ninja by accident," Scarlett intoned. The red-haired angel
glanced at her student. "Are you still willing to take that chance?"))
Sakura smiled. Of course she was willing to take that chance, even now.
Be it ANBU members or youkai-demons in her way, she was hell-bent to go
home. Sakura's thumb touched the guard on her sword, and the weapon clicked
loose from its scabbard.
The monstrous being ran toward the pink-haired girl.
"Stay away!" Sakura yelled as Tennyo flashed out. The blade hummed through
the air, a brief melody of steel. A tiny clash rung, and the two jumped
away from each other from the impact.
Sasuke was surprised at the sudden push he experienced. His feet skidded
on the ground. He managed to retain his balance, and halted on the dirt.
He crouched down like a beast. The boy looked at himself: a shallow cut
was made on his arm. Not only that, but one of his nails, crystallized
hard by Orochimaru's curse, was actually cut by his opponent's katana.
He growled.
A trickle of sweat went down Sakura's neck. Not only was this demon
fast, but Tennyo's wind-attack was weaker than usual. The kunoichi was
confident that it would create more damage — in fact, she had done it quite
well in the Rifts — yet the attack was not as strong as before. Was the
aura from the monster so great that it acted as a barrier?
(("We had to wait until your angel and demon forces neutralized completely,"
the doctor explained. "The new world just gave you a different environment
in terms of spiritual energy, or 'chakra', as you call it. Once you grew
up and were physically stronger, you could come back to our dimension.
The fatigue you are experiencing right now is your body adjusting to the
new spiritual-energy system."))
(("You, Sakura, have a fourth each of angel and demon blood. Under normal
circumstances, they would act against each other, which was why you were
unusually weak as a baby. Then as you grew up in the Shinobi World, your
mixed blood settled down..."))
Sakura paled. 'Oh, fuck. This dimension has a different spiritual energy
system. This world must not be accepting all my foreign aura, so my special
attacks aren't as powerful here!' She growled inwardly. 'What the HELL
was I doing in that other dimension when I focused on my demonic and angelic
chakra?'
The dark being lunged at her with a burst of ki in his legs. Sakura
gave a quick gasp as she backed off from it. Her opponent was brawling
all out, far from attacking strategically. He was immensely strong and
fast.
His hand swung towards her throat. A tearing noise was heard.
A chilly breeze touched her lower neck. Sakura realized that there were
now three rips on her dress, exposing her neck and upper-chest area. The
thing had claws. Chakra went into her legs, and she backed away with careful
jumps.
The monster froze in his movements. The scared look on the girl's face
jerked a piece of Uchiha Sasuke's soul back. Shaking, his hand slowly went
up to his forehead. What was he doing? Who was this person in front of
him? Who was he?
Sakura traced her hand up, and felt the wound under the pieces of shredded
cloth. The warm blood trickled out. 'Good, it's not too deep,' Sakura thought.
'Chiyute no Jutsu.' Her fingertips glowed a pleasant green before sealing
up the tiny gash. The kunoichi carefully wrapped both her hands over Tennyo's
handle again, and gave a mysterious smile. 'So that's it: chakra can still
go through my body. The demon and angel blood might not be as effective
here. But I still have normal jutsu. Not to mention, kendo and iaido.'
The forest was quiet, but the voices in Sasuke's head were deafening.
Sasuke bit his lip hard. A line of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.
Sakura then noticed the shaky hesitancy of her opponent. He, or it,
clutched his head as though in anguish. It was strange that he was not
attacking her like before. He was obviously strong and fast enough to hurt
her — he was berserk only a moment ago, thus her distance from him. 'Wait
a minute. If he has so much of that vile aura, why hasn't he tried to land
more hits on me? It's as if he's holding himself back...'
The Uchiha sank onto the ground, trembling. He managed to force something
intelligible out of his lips.
"Go... away..." he whispered.
Sakura's psyche clicked. That voice. Those words.
"Sa... Sasuke...?"
Minoru's eyes narrowed. Sitting in his place from the trees, he pulled
an arrow across the shaft of his bow, and aimed at the metamorphosis.
Itachi looked at him. "Don't do it."
Minoru held his arrow steady. "My arrows are effective on undead beings."
He aimed carefully at the transformed Sasuke. "And I promise you that I
won't miss."
Minoru's fingers let go of the bowstring.
One swing. Minoru's arrow fell harmlessly to the ground, along with
a kunai.
"You missed," Itachi said in a monotone, spinning a second kunai in
his finger. Any hint of humor in his words was covered by a cold look.
Minoru glared at the raven-haired man for making him lose aim. "What
was that for?" he asked. "Don't interfere with me; that girl will die if
we don't quickly do something about that monster."
"Hmpf. You only want to kill my brother."
An eyebrow of Minoru twitched. "That little bastard," the blond said
as he pointed at the scene below, "is your BROTHER?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Yes. And if that girl is exactly suited for
the job, then she doesn't need your help."
Minoru tightened his fists. He decided that at least one deity had a
very, very cruel sense of humor to assign him with this Itachi. Not that
the elf was not thankful for being saved from the vortex... "And if she
is not capable of handling your brother?" Minoru asked.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "She'll die," he said casually, as if it were
the most obvious fact in the world.
The blond elf lunged at Itachi. The human ducked his fist. He saw Minoru's
kick coming, and move out of the way. Itachi moved his hand just in time
to grab a hold of Minoru's wrist (which mysteriously had a knife under
the sleeve), and the elf managed to twist his arm around the S-rank criminal
into a headlock — which then poofed into a log.
Minoru sighed as he let the piece of wood drop away. A dead tie, thus
completely pointless. At least for now. 'The humans of this dimension have
evolved tremendously... No wonder Sakura had something of an inferiority
complex back in Minerva. I am sure that if this fellow recovered to full
strength, I would be no match for him...'
"Giving up already?" Itachi said from behind him.
"It is a complete waste of time trying to fight you," Minoru grunted.
'Especially when you have absolutely no inclination to kill me,' he mentally
added. He reverted his eyes back to the scene below. 'Damn it, Sakura-san,
just kill him. The Sasuke you knew from before is already dead.'
Sakura screamed as the terrible eyes glared at her. She jumped away
with chakra in her legs. The tree next to her had its crusty bark punched
off from Sasuke's chakra-infused fist. She had been doing this for the
past minute or so.
'That THING is Sasuke?!' Sakura thought as she jumped through the trees,
each of which was either pummeled or broken by Sasuke. Was this Orchimaru's
curse, Sasuke himself, or both that made him this way?
His appearance was revolting. She could barely recognize him anymore.
Even Viento in his demon-form looked more beautiful than this. Sasuke's
purple aura was that of something less than a human. It was as if — there
were no soul in his body anymore.
(("Even if I let myself be possessed by the devil, the strength I need
lies in this path..."))
Sakura's fists shook. A mixture of anger and grief coursed through her
veins. She did not know whether to laugh, cry, or shout at this hideous
incarnation of her former teammate. She thought back to all she had learned
in the other dimension, all the people and creatures she had met, beat,
and even killed. And this animal in front of her...
Sakura stopped running on the branches. This had to end at some point.
It was obvious that this creature was trying to kill her, Sasuke or no
Sasuke. He was a simple puppet now. A zombie.
A familiar sensation dripped into Sakura's body as she looked up into
the monster's eyes. Anger? Compassion? Frustration?
The beast fell after her through the branches. Raising his fist, he
prepared to crush the pink-haired stranger into the ground.
Sakura's breath stopped. The purple aura from Sasuke clicked something
in her memory. It was so much like the Necromancer's Pomegranate she broke
in the Rifts. 'Zombie. That's it.' The kunoichi's hands flicked together
in a sequence. 'Please, let this work!'
Air began to spin in between her palms, and petal-like drops of chakra
appeared. Her green eyes remained steady and calm as she looked up to the
charging monster.
"Wake up, Sasuke," she ordered.
The young lady managed to evade his punch, and aimed her glowing hand
at the origin of the curse seal. Her palm slammed on the side of his neck.
Their skin touched. Sakura felt her ki sucked into the curse seal. The
force was too strong; she could not pull back, even if she wanted to.
Sasuke screamed as he felt Sakura's hand on his skin. Her touch was
pure agony. It burned. She was holy — and he was a being of hell. What
was even worse that she did not let go. 'Get away from her! KILL HER!!'
a voice shouted in him.
But a piece of him ignored the physical pain, and the voices. Sasuke
gasped, and fell to the ground on his knees.
"Sasuke!" Sakura caught his collapsing form. He was much heavier than
before; he must have gone through a growth spurt. As she kneeled to support
him, she gave an exclamation of pain — one of his hands had managed to
reach up and grab tightly onto her wrist, nearly breaking it. But he eventually
loosened his grip, and let himself fall into her warm arms.
Sakura watched in amazement as the wings sunk back into Sasuke. The
metamorphosis did not stop there: his hair reverted to its normal black,
and his skin turned white. Almost a ghostly white, but more natural than
what she saw before. Very little of the curse mark was left on Sasuke's
neck: only three pin-sized dots remained.
Sakura took in several breaths. Did she just do that? 'Oh. Gods. What
just happened?'
As the initial amazement faded away, she gently laid Sasuke's body onto
the cold, hard ground. "Sasuke?" she whispered.
He appeared to be quietly sleeping.
Sighing in annoyance, Sakura trod over to another area of the forest
to fetch her belongings. The girl walked back to Sasuke's peaceful form.
She wrapped the warm, green cloak around him. She checked his aura — it
was weak, but normal. Not a trace of that purple chakra radiated from him.
Absentmindedly, she touched Sasuke's cheek. To her surprise, his head
tilted in response, as if leaning into the warmth of her palm. He looked...
peaceful. How bizarre.
A sudden chill of fear rushed through Sakura. She had removed most of
Orochimaru's curse, if not all, from Sasuke. It was a rare sort of accomplishment,
yes. Was it useful? Definitely. But she would get a lot of unwanted attention.
Some would want to use her. Some would want her life — Orochimaru would
certainly be after her head if he got word of this.
And this patient of hers, lying down helpless at her very feet: he was
Uchiha Sasuke, traitor of Konoha. He had abandoned his friends and village,
and went to Orochimaru in search of power. Did he really sacrifice his
own soul to be with him, on his own free will? He probably did, considering
how strong he was only moments ago. He nearly tore her throat apart. If
she let him go, who knew what Sasuke would do afterwards?
Sakura then realized something as she observed Sasuke's face. An irregular
sound was emitting, on and off, from his mouth. Something was obstructing
his air passage.
Sasuke's eyes weakly opened. He felt terrible — but not just because
his chakra was depleted.
He couldn't breathe.
The ethereal vision above him blurred. 'Sakura?' Sasuke wondered what
he was doing here, how he ended up lying on the ground. Not to mention,
his former teammate sitting watch over him. The last thing he remembered
seeing was a green-cloaked stranger...
Sakura's eyes looked frightened, but determined. She pulled out a clean
kunai.
Sasuke was immobile. He was a traitor. Sakura, as a Konoha ninja, could
legitimately kill him. And he could do absolutely nothing to stop her.
Her hand shook as it tightly gripped the kunai over Sasuke's neck. This
boy — no, young man — was dangerous. If Sasuke committed murder and other
atrocities after this incident, it would be entirely Sakura's fault for
saving him.
'My fault...'
The kunai's sharp tip lowered down to the choking boy's neck. Something
told her that she was seriously going to regret this later.
Sakura gently pushed the knife's point into his throat.
Notes:
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