It took all of her will power to keep herself from screaming. Things weren't supposed to take this turn! No, no, no, no! It wasn't supposed to end like this! They weren't supposed to end like this! She knew that it would be hard, that it would probably be the hardest thing they had ever done in their lives. But it had never occurred to her that the might not make it out alive…until now.

Her wounds bled heavily as she made a futile attempt to stand on her feet. Her blood pooled around her dying the ground a deep scarlet. She had slash wounds all over her arms and legs, a deep gash oozing with blood was running down her abdomen, bruises of all sizes covered her once pale skin and the small slash across her right cheek was still seeping blood. The pain at her side indicated at least four broken ribs. Medically wise her wounds were not life threatening but she was suffering from severe blood loss and a serious case of chakra depletion. Now, that could prove dangerous. At least she could take some comfort in the fact that Kabuto definitely had it worse than her if the broken body lying several feet away in crater-a result of her devastating strength- was any indication. She had made sure that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Despite her pain, she still found it in herself to smirk.

A resounding explosion ripped her out of her thoughts and her emerald eyes widened when a cloud of dust and rocks obstructed her view of the two shinobi fighting. She had to get to them; before they did something they would all regret later. She had learnt to live with failure but not with regret. Never with regret…

Sakura gritted her teeth and shakily pushed herself up, wincing when pain shot through her side. Make that five broken ribs. She took a few unsteady steps and cursed loudly when she fell to her knees, tearing her skin open on the hard ground. But she didn't care. All she could think of was reaching the two people that she cherished above all others in life. It didn't matter if she broke all her bones while doing so. She would get to them; one way or another she would reach them before…She didn't even dare continue that thought. The pink-haired woman pushed herself up once more with pure determination burning in her fiery emerald eyes.

She didn't know how long it took her to reach them. Seconds, minutes, an hour….Time meant nothing to her anymore; it was just blurred numbers and memories. She could feel the blood running down her body, the essence of her life leaving her slowly as it created a scarlet trail at her wake.

She could see them now. The Sun and the Moon; both glorious and beautiful in their own unique way that made her heart break. She could see them. Bloodied and hurt and probably exhausted but not giving up. Never giving up…..They charged at each other unleashing jutsu after jutsu after jutsu. They were two different elements fighting for domination….over what? They probably didn't even know anymore. Their movements were so graceful and balanced it seemed as if they were dancing; it was an ancient, deadly dance of war and glory. But there was nothing gallant about that war, no valor in their fighting. How could there be when brother turned against brother?

They were at their breaking points, she could tell. Steel clashed against steel and onyx clashed with cerulean blue. They were two opposite halves of the same whole. Yin and Yang. Two unstoppable forces of nature.

Right before her eyes, power began to glow in their hands as the wind around her picked up and the sound of chirping birds reached her ears. Her emerald eyes widened in fear as realization of the upcoming end hit her full force. No….They couldn't end like that. They wouldn't! She wouldn't be able to save them, she knew. Should they those attacks hit either of them, it would mean the end of Team 7…..Forever. They stood opposite from each other, starring each other down. For a moment she dared hope that they were hesitating, that they would drop their hands and they would all go home….Together. But this was not a fairy tale, this was their real world. There was a hard glint in their steely eyes, as if they no longer recognized each other. They charged.

It was by sheer power of will that the pink-haired woman managed to push the last remnants of her chakra to her feet and catapulted herself forward. A familiar memory flashed before her eyes and a smile crept to her lips as she recalled three young genin on the roof of a hospital. It was ironic how she always managed to get herself in these kind of situations. There was no Kakashi this time, though. There was no one to pull her out of the way of her upcoming doom.

But the smile on her face remained. She was doing the right thing. She wouldn't let them perish like that. They had saved her in more ways than they could imagine; even the silent avenger. Had it not been for his betrayal, she would have become the woman she was. It was time to return the favor. To both of them. The gentle smile on her face widened as she felt the warmth of familiar chakra engulf her.

The last thing she saw before her eyes faded and darkness embraced her were cerulean and onyx and the sound of someone screaming her name.

"SAKURA!"

'Sasuke…Naruto…I love you!'

XxxOxOxOxxX

Okumura Rin tried in vain to gain his brother's attention as they walked to the Old Male Dormitory after the end of that day's classes. It seemed that Yukio was so set on ignoring him that he didn't even glance his way. Not even once! And that was starting to seriously get on his nerves.

"Come on Yukio! Please!"

The young professor sighed "For the last time Rin, I said no and that's final."

"But why? It's not like we haven't done it before!"

"And it turned out to be disastrous. I am not making the same mistake again. You better focus on your training and forget about missions for a while."

"But that is so unfair!" whined Rin "All I do is try to light some candles! That's not even real training!"

"You must learn to control your flames or-"

"Yeah, and lighting candles is just the way!"

"Rin! Do you even realize the gravity of the situation? If you don't pass you Exorcist Exams, the Grigori will execute you!" Yukio yelled at his brother despite being out in the open. It didn't matter anyway, they were the only ones out at this time of the day.

Rin looked at his brother wide-eyed before lowering his head. He hated it to admit it but his brother was right. He was the Son of Satan. It was almost surprising that he was still alive with all those after him. Still….that didn't mean that he was pleased with how things were. He felt like a prisoner; not one behind steel bars but a prisoner nonetheless. And somehow he knew that no matter what he did, no matter how well he learnt to control his powers, he would always be prisoner of his own lineage. Rin sighed heavily and crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly.

"It was worth a try."

Yukio smiled at his brother's sulking face. Rin was hot-headed, impulsive and reckless but even he could see reason when the time called for it. It was almost funny watching him pout with his lower lip sticking out, a white fang showing behind it. Yukio would have laughed had it not been for his brother suddenly widening his eyes while staring somewhere in the distance.

"Yukio…What is that thing?" the 16-year-old boy asked and pointed at something behind him. Yukio pushed his glasses up and looked at where Rin had pointed. There was a strange light descending from the sky and it definitely wasn't a shooting star. It was way too big and bright to be one.

Rin watched as the light tore through the night sky before it disappeared behind some buildings not very far from where they were standing. "Demon?" he heard his brother whisper beside him but he wasn't so sure that it was indeed a demon. Without a second thought he dashed forward, jumping over a steel fence and completely ignoring Yukio who was trying in vain to stop him. He didn't know why but that strange light made his stomach turn. It was a strange foreboding that had him on edge. Not in a negative way, though.

He took a sharp turn and found himself in a dark alley. The only light came from a street lamp but it was enough for him to see the outline of a figure lying in the shadows. He rushed to their side not noticing Yukio coming up beside him panting slightly.

"Don't just stand there! Come help me!" Rin shouted at him.

Carefully, they pulled the person out of the shadows into the light only to gasp at the sight. It was a girl covered in bruises and blood. She had slashes all over her arms and legs and there was an ugly gash running across her abdomen. Her clothes were torn and tattered with dried blood covering most of her skin.

"W-What happened to her?" Yukio wondered horrified at the condition the girl was in. She looked to be about their age but they couldn't be sure, what with all the blood and bruises covering her skin and face.

Rin immediately checked for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her slow heartbeat under his fingers. Her pulse was faint and her condition was bad but she was alive.

"Yukio….What are we going to do with her?"

"What do you mean?"

"We can't just leave her here! She'll die!"

Yukio stared at his brother and then at the unconscious girl. At her state leaving her alone would mean her death. With those wounds and no way of protecting herself she was as good as dead. However, they knew nothing about her. She could be a demon in disguise for all they knew. He couldn't take any risks….

Yukio sighed deeply. "Pick her up. We're taking her with us."

TBC

This is the prologue to a new crossover I'm planning on writing. So, if you find the idea interesting please review to let me know. Also, I have put up a poll on my profile, so please spare a moment to vote the pairing you like best. It only takes a minute and it will help me greatly with the story! So please, just take a minute and vote. I'll be grateful!

Anyway, READ AND REVIWE!

Lots of love!