A/N: This fic is for Sakura Week 2018, Day 2: Connections. I don't care what the animators chose, Indra will always have black hair in my head.

As a child, Sakura grew up knowing a life of peace.

She lived in a seaside village with her mother and father and enjoyed a life of salty air, sunshine, and playing in the waves. She fished with her father during the day and made medicines with her mother at night. She would listen the the grand tales her father would weave as they made dinner together. She would learn to fight with her fists from her mother as they basked in the warm glow of the sun.

She would seek out the animals of the jungle as her friends, frequently having her variety of pets, from ocelots to coconut crabs, turned down by one or both of her parents. But, more often than not, she would spend the days of her childhood exploring the beaches and coves with the other children of her village.

She had been friends of the children of her village but she had always been different than them all.

Sakura had chakra.

While the other children were learning the skills they needed as fishers and hunters, Sakura was also learning the teachings of ninshu. While other children were learning how to craft a fishing pole, she was also learning how to access her chakra. While the other children were taught to cultivate the land, Sakura was also taught how to use her chakra to connect with humans and animals alike. While the other kids were being taught how to hunt the animals in the jungles surrounding them, she was also learning how to heal wounds with her inner power, a skill her mother had crafted herself.

Her mother had been a follower of a man named Hagoromo, a man who she often said had saved the world. A man who she respected, who she considered a friend, and who had shared with her his chakra and his teachings.

Sakura's mother would frequently tell the story of how she had once been a part of Hagoromo's group of companions and advisors. She had traveled the world with him, helping people in need as they spread the teachings of ninshu. It hadn't been until she had met Sakura's father that she decided to stay behind in their seaside village, becoming a valued member of the community as a healer and one day giving birth to Sakura.

Sakura had lived a life of ease and peace, surrounded by people she loved and learning the skills of her mother and her mentor.

It was on Sakura's eighteenth birthday that her mother came to her and told her that she had learned all she had to teach. She admitted that there was so much more to learn and that she believed that Sakura was destined for more than their tiny seaside village.

It was on Sakura's eighteenth birthday that her mother gave her a quest to find and study under the founder of ninshu and her old mentor Hagoromo Otsutsuki. A pilgrimage that Sakura, having grown stir crazy in the uneventful village, had been grateful to accept. And one she had spent months attempting to fulfill.

Sakura ventured between the cities and towns that spanned the breadth of the earth between her own home and the distant land where Hagoromo had supposedly began his own village. She spread the teachings of ninshu as she went, encouraging peace and companionship in every person she met. She freely shared her skill of healing and met numerous people who she would always consider to be her friends. It was these people who helped guide her and who finally lead her to the village she stood before now.

With a proud smile and a determined stride, Sakura finally entered the village lead by the founder of ninshu and her mother's old friend and mentor, Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

Indra watched as the sun began to set in the distance, his footsteps unhurried as he made his way back towards his home from his hidden training grounds in the forest. His sharp gaze flicked across the men and women outside of the gates, tending to the fields which supplied their village with food. Even farther in the distance, he could spot a number of fishers perched along the edge of the riverfront, slowly gathering their tools as they worked to return home themselves.

As he approached the all too familiar gates that lead into the village he had always called home, he overhead a man and a woman talking excitedly.

"-been so long! We haven't had a proper visitor in years, it seems," the woman excitedly detailed, her graying black hair pulled up into a utilitarian bun.

"Has it really been so long? I can hardly believe it. And for our first guest in so long to be such a lovely young maiden? What are the chances?" the man, perhaps in his fiftieth year, laughed good naturedly.

"You best watch that tongue! She has the scars of a warrior! These old eyes may not see much nowadays but they can see that much," she chuckled in response.

Indra's eyes narrowed, his sharingan spinning to life as his gaze shot to his father's dojo. He could see traces of an unfamiliar chakra hanging in the air and grimaced. He boldly strode over towards the building, determination building in his chest alongside his wariness.

If there was a guest, he would be sure to investigate them thoroughly. After all, no one else had eyes like his and no one else could see the reality of the world like he could. He would examine this warrior woman from outside of their village to insure she was safe to have around his family and his future followers.

As Indra ascended the stairs which lead into the open air building, he noticed a woman sitting before his father's seat. Asura sat beside her, a good natured smile spread across his face as he watched the stranger.

The first thing Indra noticed about the woman was her oddly colored hair. He had never met anyone with pink hair before and found it to be quite unusual. The second thing he noticed was her apparel, how she wore a kimono that was draped in layers of carefully crafted leather armor. He took her armored form as a reflection of the state of the world around their peaceful little village and realized that the world was still very much dangerous.

He approached slowly, observing her with his sharingan and furrowing his eyebrows at how she indeed was the source of the unusual chakra. He theorized that she must be the daughter or a companion of one of his father's old followers, one of the individuals who left his service to spread the teachings of ninshu.

"-kind of you to say, Lord Hagoromo. My power has served me well in my journey to find you. It is my connections with the ones I love, my mother and my father and the people of my village, that gave me the strength to complete my pilgrimage," the woman explained, a smile in her voice.

Indra scoffed as he strode forward to stand beside his sitting brother, staring down his nose at the pink haired stranger. "That's a ridiculous notion. Connections aren't what makes a person powerful. It's their own inner strength."

Her smile immediately washed away and was instead replaced with a scowl of her own.

"Excuse me but who are you?" she snapped, her eyes looking him up and down as if to size him up as a threat.

As if she would be a challenge to someone with blessed eyes such as himself.

"I am Indra, Hagoromo's first born son," he declared, folding his arms across his chest haughtily.

"If you're the first born, I would expect you to show more respect for your guests."

"It's not a matter of respect, it's a matter of factuality. Power rules this world, not something as ridiculous as friendship."

"I would think that as a follower of Ninshu, you would be able to comprehend that power comes from the bonds we share with each other!" she growled in response, jabbing an accusing finger in his direction, "That's what Ninshu is about!"

"I understand that you have just recently arrived at our village and aren't aware," he began condescendingly, knowing that this strange woman wouldn't be educated to the factualities of the village and his power, "But my eyes allow me to see the truth in this world."

"I don't care for your self indulgent fantasies. You don't get to disregard everything about the teachings of Ninshu simply because you think of yourself as somehow special!" she shot back, her upset rising with the volume of her voice.

Indra was special. He had the eyes, the skill, and the chakra control to prove it. Hearing this stranger, this random women from the uncultured lands around them, daring to speak so lowly to him had anger rising within him. His chakra flared around him, a silent threat, and the woman shot to her feet, her hands forming fists at her side.

"W-wait, hang on-!" Asura desperately tried as he leapt to his feet as well, attempting to diffuse the growing animosity in the room.

Hagoromo, however, did nothing, instead watching on with a carefully neutral expression.

"Are you trying to challenge me?" she demanded, slipping into an unfamiliar battle stance, her fists tight and her expression hardened.

This wouldn't be her first fight then. A warrior indeed.

"You speak as if someone such as yourself could be a challenge to me," Indra retorted cooly, not intimidated by her show of experience. It didn't matter how many years she had learning the art of battle, she would not be able to overpower him or outwit him with his sharingan.

"You talk big for someone too dim to understand basic teachings," she hissed, staring into his eyes without fear.

His hackles rose. "And you know not who you insult."

"Hey, there's no need for-!" Asura attempted again, waving his hands as if to draw the attention of either of the furious warriors.

"I don't care who you are, you won't beat me," the woman haughtily declared.

"Prove it," Indra returned simply, unsurprised when the woman rushed forward to begin their hand to hand battle.

What did surprise him was her speed and the strength behind her blows. She appeared to be small and waifish with her kimono concealing her form but the strength behind her punches, and the stinging pain in his forearms as he blocked her strikes, betrayed the power in her form.

Her fighting style, oddly enough, reminded Indra of dancing. Her movements were fluid and her strikes were perfectly timed. She had a flow to her movements, a mix of push and retreat, that seemed more like a dance than a fight.

If Indra had been any less furious, he would have enjoyed fighting with someone of such a unique fighting background more. But, in that moment, he wanted to prove a point to this obstinate stranger. He wanted to prove that she was wrong in her assumptions about ninshu, that she was daft to challenge him, and that he was the one who was right.

With his sharingan searching for an opening, he spotted his chance and took it. Slipping beneath her guard, he channeled a burst of wind chakra into his hand, intending on blowing her away and taking his victory.

When the woman, with a speed he could only imagine was enhanced with chakra, grabbed onto his arm, he had been surprised once again. When she levered him over her shoulder and threw him over her shoulder with an inhuman strength, he was baffled. His back hit the ground with a resounding thud, the unfamiliar blow knocking the breath right out of him and stunning him for the moment the stranger needed to pin his arm and sink a knee into his chest.

When his eyes, still sharingan bright, snapped up to stare at her, she was glaring down at him.

"It's my connections with the people I love, my friendships and my family, that make me strong. Far stronger than your pretty eyes ever could! Maybe one day you'll learn the value of bonds but, until then, you'll never beat me!" she roared in his face before releasing him, standing from where she had pinned him to the floor.

Indra shot up into a sitting position, watching her in shock from his position on the floor. His eyes snapped to Asura and he noticed the open befuddlement on his face. When his eyes flicked to Hagoromo, even his father had his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Lord Hagoromo, I am deeply sorry for fighting on your lands. I will not disrespect you in such a way again. I thank you for your allowing me to stay and train with your people and I look forward to the opportunity. For now, I must excuse myself. Thank you," the woman forced out as she deeply bowed to his father.

"Very well, Lady Sakura. Please make yourself at home," Hagoromo returned, his expression returning to neutrality.

She snapped back up and spun around on her heels before leaving in a flurry of pink hair and jangling armor.

Asura's gaze flicked from the woman to their father to Indra and then repeated the cycle three more times as he stammered.

Finally making his decision, he chased after the stranger while calling out, "Er, Lady Sakura! Wait up! Let me at least show you where your house is!"

'Sakura then…' Indra thought as he watched as Sakura and Asura left, a storm of emotion building within him. Rage, suspicion, curiosity, distrust, embarrassment… and something else he couldn't describe but which left him all the more off balance.

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt the floor against his back following a fight...

For the first couple of weeks that Sakura stayed at his village and trained under Hagoromo, Indra was distrustful. He refused to take part in the training sessions he would normally help lead, instead watching on as rage build within him.

When she was interacting with the others in the village, he would spy on her. He would watched as she trained with others or by herself, he would observe as she shared meals with his future followers, and he would analyze her as she used her chakra to heal them.

She may smile and laugh with everyone, she may have appeared to befriend everyone, she may appear to be a good person but he knew better.

'She can't be trusted.'

Indra couldn't understand why everyone had so much faith her, why everyone subjected themselves to her friendship. Even his little brother had allowed himself to be tricked by her wiles, although he could understand his brother's weakness. He was too kind for his own good.

But Indra knew better. He could see the truth of the world with his sharingan and he could see that Sakura was dangerous.

His rage at her only continued to increase until it one day came to a head as he inadvertently overheard a conversation between two of the followers in his village. He discreetly listened on as he drank some water from the well following his own training session.

"Master Indra is simply amazing," a man commented innocuous, Indra internally nodding in approval.

"When he glares at you with those eyes, I can't even move. He's so young and he's already an instructor. Master Indra's the one who invented hand signs and jutsu," the other man replied before he sighed and continued, "But recently he's been too strict. Even earlier, he didn't go easy at all."

Well, if they focused more on their training and weren't so lazy then they wouldn't have to worry so much.

"If Master Indra becomes the successor, I don't know if I'd be able to follow him," one of the men admitted in an almost conspiratorial tone.

Indra's attention perked up at that, his body becoming rigid as anger flowed through him. How could they even suggest such a thing? Would they leave the village when he ascended to the leader of ninshu? Or worse, would they attempt a rebellion?

As if they could win against him.

"You're right. Sometimes the way Master Indra looks at us seems almost hateful. Master Asura is much easier to approach, but he's not skilled at all…"

"Perhaps Lady Sakura should become successor instead. Not only is she kind like Asura but she's stronger than Indra."

Indra could feel his rage as easily as he could feel the breath entering and leaving his lungs. How dare they say such a thing, how dare they speak such atrocities? Sakura? The successor? Such a thing was laughable but to think that the followers that would one day be his would have the gall to even suggest such a thing, even in private?

His hands trembled with his anger.

"She would certainly be better than either of Hagoromo's son's, even if she is an outsider"

"Nothing ever goes perfectly, doesn't it?"

"I'll say."

Indra carelessly dropped his ladle next to the well before storming out to a now familiar section of the forest.

"Sakura!" Indra roared as he entered the part of the forest that Sakura had set aside for her own private training sessions.

The calm of the forest and the gentle sound of the running water from the nearby river did nothing to calm his fury.

Sakura turned to face him, a stream of water she had been manipulating mid air being released from her control and returning to the river in front of her. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she gazed upon him, her stance relaxed even in the face of his malicious chakra.

"Indra," she replied simply.

"I challenge you to a battle, stranger from the wilds," he hissed through his teeth, keeping a forceful control over his chakra as he stared down her, his eyes whirling with his sharingan.

"Oh? And to what end?" she question, nonchalantly perching a hand on her hip even as her body remained tense and prepared for the coming fight.

"If I succeed, you leave the village," he demanded.

"And if I win?" she returned, acting far too calm for his liking.

"You become the successor of Ninshu."

"I don't want to be the successor," she scoffed before tacking on, "As if who becomes the successor is your choice anyways."

"Then what do you want?" he shot back, not wanting to waste this time talking when he should be ousting her from the village.

"I want you to stop being so cruel to the others. You don't teach them during spars, you beat them. You don't share meals with them, you tolerate them," she declared, her eyes narrowing as she glared out at him, "If you want to be the successor so badly than you need to learn what it means to lead instead of rule!"

"That's a ridiculous request," he derided, blown away by the fact she would make such a stupid, asinine demand.

"That's my wager."

"Very well. There is no way you shall win this either way."

"We'll see about that!" Sakura roared as she rapidly gathered a rope of water from the river and lashed it out at Indra like a whip.

As Indra backflipped out of the way of her attack, already flying through his own hand signs, he realized that Sakura had never released her control over the water she had been manipulating when he first arrived.

He would have been impressed if not for his anger.

Indra sucked in a deep breath of air before forcing out a blast of flame, the massive fireball evaporating the water Sakura had once held control over. It was Sakura's turn to retreat, the woman skirting backwards and across the body of water she had once been training with. Indra shot after her, leaping over the river and forcing her into a confrontation of fists.

Once again, he was surprised by the power behind her blows and the speed of her movements. As he watched her now, his sharingan taking in every one of her movements, he realized that she indeed was supplementing her movement with chakra. A skill he had never before seen but one he would still defeat. It didn't matter if she had her fancy tricks, she wouldn't beat him again.

The two traded a series of powerful blows before Sakura shot out with her foot, intending to sneak beneath his guard and lay in a kick to his gut. He leapt out of the way of her attack, lurching forward once again and leveling her with a flurry of blows. She cautiously blocked or side stepped his strikes but Indra noticed as she grimaced under the force of his punches.

When Indra pushed his offensive and forced Sakura onto the defensive, she struggled to continue to ward off his strikes. He watched as her reflexes slowed, her exhaustion from the fight apparently taking its toll on her. Indra watched as an opening appeared in her guard and, without a moment of hesitation, took advantage of it.

A burst of breath left her as Indra laid a punch into her gut and threw her back to the shore. She sputtered as she drew a desperate breath of air back into her lungs and fell to her knees. Indra lurched backwards, rapidly cycling through a series of familiar hand signs, before shooting forward, his hand cloaked in a lightning chakra.

Not nearly enough chakra to kill but enough to strike her down.

It was the moment before Indra's attack would have landed that Sakura's viridian eyes shot up to meet his sharingan orbs, the weakness she had once expressed no longer present.

She had been feigning her vulnerability.

Sakura batted his arm to the side, parrying his blow at the expense of a blistering burn on her forearm. He watched, as if in slow motion, as her fist shot forward to sink into his own abdomen.

All of the breath in Indra's lungs left him as the force behind her monstrous punch threw him backwards. He landed on his back once again, his lungs burning as he struggled to force the muscles in his chest to draw breath once again. After dragging a desperate gasp of air into his lung, they were once again drained dry by the force of Sakura's knee sinking into his stomach as she pounced upon him.

Indra's gaze shot up to the woman once again towering above him, her fist raised high and her face the picture of fury. One of her hands was fisted in his shirt as if to lever him to the floor for her next blow.

As he waited for the blow to fall, forcing air into his stunned lungs, he watched as her expression of rage fell instead. She stared down at him with a look of confusion, one that almost bordered on… concern.

"You… You're sick," Sakura finally whispered, snapping him out of his daze.

Indra used her distraction to shove her off of him, shooting to his feet as she rolled to hers. She held her hands up, as if to calm him instead of continue their fight.

"What are you talking about, you fool!" he roared back at her, the energy of the fight and his fury still rushing in his blood.

"You're sick! There's something dark inside of you!" Sakura yelled back, her tone now dominated by concern instead of anger.

"That's insane! You're insane!"

"It's not, I can feel it! Something is in you, something dark and evil and wrong!" Sakura took a cautious step forward, as if he was a wild animal that was easily spooked. "Let me help you."

Indra hissed as a sharp pain pulsed through his mind, his hand instinctually shooting up to cradle the side of his head.

"I don't need help from anyone, let alone someone like you!" he seethed back, scowling deeply before turning on his heel and leaving.

The idiotic stranger had ruined their fight with her insane ramblings. They would continue this battle another day.

Indra fumed as he retreated to the part of the forest that he had taken as his own training grounds. He paced back and forth, lost in his thoughts, as he tried to ignore what Sakura had said.

She was ridiculous, she was stupid, she was insane. There was no way that he had been so weak as to be infected by anything. He was too powerful for such a thing. No, it was her that was infected. Infected with the sickness of the mind.

Even as he desperately tried to reason away her declaration, the concern in her eyes kept making him second guess himself. In his wild thoughts, his mind brought him back to the mysterious boy that he had met all those years ago.

"So it was you who inherited mother's powers."

Indra hissed as the aching in his head began once again. He shook his head as he continued to pace, his anger fueling the energy coursing through his body.

"You will grow strong. You have the desire, potential, and talent for Ninshu… However, you're still not aware of your true power. An even greater power lies dormant inside of you."

"There is one condition for awakening that power. You must lose love. Like having a person you love die. Let's test it out!"

Indra's heart clenched in his chest as he remembered how his precious brother had almost been killed by that unnaturally powered boar. It was only because of him that Asura had survived that day, even if their canine companion Shiro had lost his life.

That was the day he had awakened his sharingan.

"From now on, you'll use those eyes to see the truth."

The strange boy's words had had Indra's mind running in circles for years. He had felt so much fear after nearly losing Asura that he had dedicated every spare moment to furthering his skills. He could not allow Asura to be put in such danger again.

Even so, it had been that danger that had awakened his eyes…

At least the mysterious boy had been the one to take credit for his eyes evolving. It had been many years before he reappeared and, even when he did, it had been as if he wasn't even truly there.

"Did you see something with those eyes? Like the future of Ninshu? Or your dreams? You've already sensed it, right? That you're special. That you have the power to change the future of Ninshu. You have overwhelming power. You've inherited most of Hagoromo's power. Asura can't hold a candle to you."

Even with his sharingan activated, Indra hadn't been able to make out the form of the mysterious boy from the forest. The edges of his body which should have been sharp were instead hazy and undefined. His body had been blurry and difficult to focus on, like an object so close to your eyes that you couldn't make out the details on the surface.

When the boy had rushed forward, Indra had fallen back into a defensive position to fight. Instead, the boy had traveled straight through him, as if he had never existed in that space at all. Indra could remember a feeling of freezing cold, as if someone had dumped a bucket of water against his chest, and these words:

"In time, your power will rival that of your father, Hagoromo. No one will be able to compete with you…"

And then everything had gone black.

The last thing Indra could remember after was waking up that morning in his bed with a pounding headache. He had thought that his experience had been nothing more than a dream. After all, who would believe that such an unusual event had occurred? That a ghostly boy in the forest had run through him?

He had pushed it aside and continued his life as always but…

What if Sakura was right? What if he had been infected with some kind of darkness from the strange boy in the forest?

A sharp pain shot through his head, spanning from the backs of his eyes to the base of his skull. Both of his hands came up to grasp his head as he clenching his teeth against the pain.

"Power is what rules the world. Power maintains order. In time, I will take over Ninshu and fulfill my dream."

No. She was wrong.

He was right. It was power that ruled over the world. He wasn't sick, she was. She was wrong, she was the intruder, she was the darkness.

She needed to be stopped.

The pain in Indra's head abated.

For the next week, Indra remained silent as he waited for his opportunity. Sakura spoke of their battle in the forest to no one and, despite his menacing presence, no one spoke a word to him.

His opportunity presented itself when Sakura left into the forest one afternoon under the pretense to collect firewood. Without a doubt, it was for a far more nefarious purpose. And Indra would no longer allow her to put Asura and his future followers in danger.

While she was busying herself with preparing a water jutsu to cut down a tree to harvest as firewood, Indra struck.

At the last possible moment, Sakura noticed his presence. Even though she had located him, she had not done so with enough time. His jutsu, a technique he had crafted to form a blade from his lightning chakra, slashed into her shoulder.

She cried out in pain even as she leapt out of the way, the water she had been harvesting for a jutsu dropping to the forest floor and soaking the grass under their feet. She stumbled to her knees as her hand came up to clutch her horribly burned shoulder. The smell of burning flesh and cloth was heavy in the air as she glared up at him through her messy bangs.

"Why, Indra!?" Sakura demanded, her hand already glowing green with chakra as she attempted to heal her wound.

Indra would give her no answer and no reprieve. He shot forward, his hand once again cloaked in lightning chakra, as he lashed out. Her moved were sluggish and weak as she struggled to stay out of his reach and dodge his blows. She was too slow, his cutting jutsu slashing and burning her skin and the cloth of her kimono as he snuck beneath her guard.

Each new wound had a hiss of pain slipping free from her lips and had even more energy and focus being directed into her movements.

Indra rushed forward one last time, intending on putting an end to this battle, and was surprised when Sakura instead parried his blow, directing it towards the ground and once again horribly burning her forearm. He may have been caught by this technique once before but he would not expose his middle for her punch.

He sunk down, following her redirection and guarding his middle. It was when his lightning chakra cloaked fist hit the ground that he realized his mistake.

The ground was covered in water.

His entire body tensed as his own lightning chakra followed the path of the water and trailed up his own two feet. His ears rang as the electricity coursed through his body, every muscle in his body locking up as he was made the victim of his own attack. The muscles of his throat vibrated so intensely that it felt as if he was screaming although no sound passed his lips.

It was his lapse of focus that allowed his jutsu to die out and his pain to stop, finally putting an end to his self induced agony.

"Indra, you need to stop! This isn't you, this can't be you! Please calm down!" Sakura pleaded, her hand still glowing green as she frantically tried to mend her crippling wounds.

"I won't let you hurt anyone, deceiver!" Indra roared in return, growling as he forced a fresh burst of lightning chakra into his hand.

Instead of forming a blade, the energy sparked wildly from his hand. It glowed bright with power and sung with a song of a thousand birds, the chirping of the electricity harsh and sharp even to his own ears. He cried out as he rushed forward, intending to put an end to the interloper once and for all.

Indra felt as his fist punctured flesh, his sharingan focused on Sakura and her fearful expression. Instead of her face contorting in agony at the pain of being ran through, it twisted in horror. His own eyes widened as he felt warm blood run over his fingertips.

Blood that wasn't hers.

He looked to the side and caught sight of white cloth and dark hair.

"Asura!" Sakura screamed while Indra struggled to even draw breath into his lungs.

Indra slowly pulled back his hand, as if moving slowly enough could take away the mortal wound he had created in his own brother's stomach. He drew in a breath that sounded more like a whimper even with his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Asura's hands weakly grasped onto his arm and his shoulder for balance, Indra's eyes widening and tears building as he watched Asura's clean white robe besmirched by the crimson of his own blood. Indra trembled as his brother lost his grip on his shoulder, instead falling to the grass.

Indra stared on in disbelief as Sakura rushed to Asura's side. His mouth opened and closed but he could find no words to speak. He could only look on as Sakura's hands glowed green as she ignored her own freely bleeding wounds to instead focus on the hole in Asura's stomach.

"Asura, it's okay! I've got you! Hold on, please!" Sakura cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It was when he heard Sakura's voice that Indra finally found his own.

"Asura! Why did you do this!? Why did you protect her!? She's trying to hurt us all, she's evil!" he demanded, feeling as the tears building in the corners of his eyes finally slipped free.

"You're wrong, big brother… Sakura has been helping us. She's a good person… You're the one who is wrong…" Asura gasped in return, desperately trying to draw air into his lungs with the muscles in his stomach destroyed by Indra's own blow. The muscles in his neck and shoulders struggled to compensate for the missing strength.

Asura fought to draw in a gurgling breath, struggling as his lung instead forced him to return a mouthful of blood.

"Asura…" Indra whispered, unable to tear his eyes away.

"Please take care of him…" Asura pleaded with Sakura, his voice weak and wet, before his eyes slid shut.

Indra's body trembled as he watched the blood stain his brother's lips, his hands, his chest. As he watched as his eyes slid shut. The one person he would do anything to protect, the one person he loved most in this world, was dying… And it was all his fault.

He had killed his brother. He had killed Asura.

Indra screamed as a piercing pain shot through his head, his knees giving out under the weight of the agony. His hands shot up to his eyes, the focal point of his pain, as if to try to control the indescribable torment. He could feel as a hot liquid, thicker than tears, poured down his face but could not open his eyes or focus his mind long enough to investigate. His body and mind were so distracted by the pain that it was all he could comprehend let alone think of.

He wasn't even aware when his back hit the forest floor, the pain in his head was so immense. He felt as if his skull was going to crack open under the pain, the only agony that was greater than the physical being the mental.

What had he done? He had killed Asura. How could he? How could he have killed him? It wasn't true, it couldn't be. What had he done?

Indra could hardly focus when he felt an unfamiliar weight leap upon him, pinning down his flailing limbs and ripping his hands away from his eyes. He was only able to tear open his eyes for a moment and the vision of Sakura above him, tears staining her face but her expression hardened with determination, was painted a vivid red.

"Hold still!" was the last thing he heard her scream before his pain magnified, the mind boggling agony in his head joined with the blinding pain in his body.

Indra wrenched open his eyes one final time, his lungs burning from his screams, and saw as Sakura ripped a pitch black creature from his body.

And then there was darkness.

When Indra's eyes finally slid open once again, it was with the feeling of blissful painlessness.

It took a moment for his blurry, sleep muddled gaze to finally focus on the familiar ceiling of the thatched roofs they used in the buildings in his village. He blinked a handful of times before his eyes finally focused enough to make out the individual branches of bamboo.

Only for the memories from the battle to return once again. He drew in a sharp breath, his teeth clenching together tightly as he remembered how he had struck down his own brother. Where was Asura? Was he okay? What had happened?

All he remembered was Sakura pulling that… thing out of his chest.

His head lolled to the side, his weakened state not providing much mobility and his gaze immediately blurring with the energy it took to simply move his head. His breathing came fast and his heart raced in his chest as he forced his eyes to focus in front of him.

When his vision finally returned to him, a fact Indra was ill accustomed to with his sharingan, the sight of a white headband and dark hair met him. He released a breath he had been holding, one that had been burning his chest in his anxiety, as he gazed at Asura. As he watched his brother draw breath, even though he was unconscious, he felt as hot tears built in his eyes once again.

He was alive…

"Indra… You're awake…" an exhausted voice spoke from beside him.

Indra struggled to turn his head once again but once his vision settled, he was greeted by the exhausted and bleary form of Sakura.

"Sakura, I…" Indra started, his voice so weak that it was but a whisper, "You saved Asura."

The edges of Sakura's lips quirked up, her smile somehow warmer and less menacing than it had ever been. "I did. He hasn't woken up yet but he'll be okay."

The silence between then stretched on as Indra struggled to regain the energy he needed to speak. He could feel as his eyelids fought to stay open and as his vision willed itself to return to black. Before he returned to sleep, he had something he needed to say.

"I… I don't know what came over me... I'm so sorry…" he apologized, slowly blinking and struggling to reopen his eyes once they closed.

"It's okay," Sakura immediately forgave, "It wasn't you. It was that… thing. You're you now. You're safe now."

Indra's eyes finally slid shut, his will no longer enough to overcome his exhaustion. Even in the darkness, his hand reached out and found hers.

"I'm sorry… and thank you…" he gently squeezed her hand, some distant part of him wondering how he could have ever thought someone so kind, so warm, was so evil.

Indra drifted back into unconsciousness, feeling lighter than he ever had.

When Indra first emerged from his three day slumber, Asura had already been awake and well for some time. His younger brother had chosen to spend most of his days at his beside, only taking brief breaks for food, water, and sunlight.

Asura had been the first face he had seen when he had awakened and, just as he had when he had seen him the first time following the battle, he had burst into tears. His absolute shame at having ambushed Sakura due to some perceived notion of her being a threat was only overshadowed by his self loathing for having so grievously hurt his own brother, the person he cared about most in this world, in the process.

Indra wasn't sure if Asura's immediate forgiveness made his self hatred better or worse. He felt as if he needed to be punished for doing such atrocious things but Asura and Sakura both asserted that it was the dark creature that Sakura had ripped out of him following their battle. The being that had fled into the woods before Sakura could strike it down, her wounds having been too grievous and her patients too close to death's door for her to justify chasing after it.

Even now, it could be watching over them. All Indra could do to chip away at his shame and self hatred was to promise to never allow himself to be taken over again.

Even with both him and his little brother having gained consciousness, it took weeks to fully recover. And it was during these weeks, when he was unable to spar or train, that Indra began to notice how much the others of the village distrusted him. He was horrified when he realized just how deep their dislike of him went, some outright fearing him. He had never noticed the strain between himself and the others of the village and it was during these weeks as he recovered that he worked to repair the relationships with the people he had spent his entire life side by side with. The people he once only looked at as future followers once again became the family and friends they had been when he was a child.

For weeks, he tried to pinpoint the moment that had changed.

And for months, the people of the village finally began to come around to him once again. Some resisted allowing him into their good graces considering his attack on Sakura and his injuring of Asura but, following an explanation from Sakura and forgiveness from them both, even the most distrustful villagers began to reconsider.

Over the months that Indra worked to recover and to repair the relationships with the others in the village, he began to watch Sakura as he once did. Instead of seeing her actions as being somehow suspicious, they were helpful and kind. As he quietly watched her heal those who were injured while working or during training, he couldn't see her kindness as being anything but gracious.

Indra silently fretted over how deeply that mysterious boy, that creature, from the forest had infected him. How long had he lived with him inside of him? How much of what he had done was of his own free will? How many of his actions had been manipulated by the entity that had taken his body for a home?

He felt sick to his stomach at the thought and found himself drawing away from the others of the village for fear he was still somehow tainted. He didn't want to hurt anyone even again, he didn't want to risk injuring someone he loved again.

He seriously considered leaving the village for some time, abandoning all those he loved and everything he had worked for. After all, if he was gone, everyone would be safer. Everyone would be better off if they didn't have to worry about a person as mentally weak as him being infected by a monster in the woods once again.

It was Asura's continued trust and companionship, how he would always seek him out even during his darkest moments, that made the decision for Indra. He couldn't bear the thought of abandoning his brother so brazenly, of deserting him during such a critical time in their lives. Not just that but it would only be a matter of time before their father chose the successor of ninshu. He had to remain, not just for his brother but for the people of their village.

That was, if he was even chosen after everything that had happened.

Decision made, Indra abandoned thoughts of leaving the village to instead focus on his commitment, his duty to the people. Hardening his resolve, he reaffirmed his dedication to ninshu and it's followers and promised to never allow himself to be so weak again.

With Indra's commitment to the people of his village came days spent in their presence. He began to teach again, going easy on those who needed it and pushing those who could persevere to further their learning. People who once loathed being assigned to spar with him now enjoyed the lessons they spent together. With the trading of blows and the shared euphoria that came from fighting came friendship.

Indra began to take his meals at the heart of their dining hall, perched right next to Asura, instead of hidden away in the quiet corner as he normally had. He found himself smiling more than he ever had and, soon enough, he looked forward to meals for the conversation instead of the food.

Times he once spent secreted away in the forest were instead spent helping others in the fields or with fishing. Time he once kept to himself were now spent with the people he once again considered family and friends, people who had welcomed him back into their lives and their hearts.

One day, as he spent his afternoon helping the fishers with their catches, Indra remembered the time that he had challenged Sakura to a battle. Their deal had been that if he won, she would leave the village, but that if she won, he would be kinder to the people. He had nearly laughed aloud when he realized that he had forfeited the match and had technically been the one to lose and how he appeared to be working to fulfill his end of the bargain.

When Indra approached her that night during dinner to share his realization, she had been amused as well. She had laughed aloud and, in the heart of her mirth, Indra had realized something shocking.

Sakura was beautiful…

With her head thrown back in joy, her laughter light and infectious, and her smile was warm and inviting, he realized how alluring she was. How it was not only her appearance but her personality and her strength that made her truly incredible.

Indra kept the realization to himself although it had taken him a moment to reign in the blush that had dusted his cheeks following his epiphany. He had blamed it on the sake he had drank with his meal and, after that day, he seeked out Sakura for her warm and pleasant company.

A slow friendship emerged from the ashes of their first interactions, their new companionship being a connection he had never felt with another person. He loved his brother and his father but the connection he shared with Sakura was unfamiliar and new. He slowly began to care for her to the point where most of his days, when not training or teaching or spending time with his family, were spent in her company.

Sakura herself had become partial to his presence, seeking him out nearly as often as he searched for her company. Indra had begun to feel a strange pull in his chest when he was near her and it took him longer than he would be comfortable admitting that he had fallen in love.

That he had fallen in love with the woman he had once tried to kill.

Deciding nothing could ever come of it, that it was impossible that she would be capable of returning his feelings after his crimes against her, he satisfied himself with her friendship and pushed for nothing more.

For nearly half a year, he lead a quiet and happy life in the village. And it wasn't until the end of the summer and the welcoming of spring that his father finally made the announcement that he had chosen a successor.

While Indra had known that the chances of him being chosen were slim, even though he was the oldest brother and Asura adamantly did not want the position, when Hagoromo chose Asura to be the successor of ninshu, he could admit to feeling a bit of hurt. Despite his hurt, he understood. Asura was wholly good, a truly benevolent and self sacrificing person, and he was the rightful heir.

While Asura vehemently went on a rant, yelling that it was Indra who should have become successor, Indra had interrupted him with words of congratulation and a promise. A promise that he would help his brother however he could.

Indra had snorted in amusement, his hurt already withering away, when his little brother had begun to cry and had latched onto him much in the way he used to do as a child.

Whatever happened, Indra decided that he would always be there to help those who he loved and he would never allow himself to fall victim to the darkness again.

On Sakura's one year anniversary of her stay at the village, Sakura announced that she was leaving.

Even though Indra had known that Sakura wasn't going to stay at his village forever, that her pilgrimage was just that and was a journey that involved a return trip, he had been surprised by her announcement. For the past handful of months, he had grown attached to her and the thought that she was going to be leaving left him with a sense of melancholy.

He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay at the village with him, as selfish as the thought may have been. No matter his feelings on the event, however, he made sure to go and see her off.

When Indra saw Sakura dressed in the kimono and her armor, a travel pack strapped across her back, it finally occurred to him that this was very much real. Sakura, after all of the memories, good and bad, that they had shared, after all of the light she had brought into his world, and after all she had taught him… was leaving.

"Sakura," he greeted simply once the last of the villagers were done saying their goodbyes, some tearful, to their parting friend. He didn't want their final farewell to have an audience so he was happy to patiently wait for his time to have the entirety of Sakura's attention.

"Indra," Sakura returned with a smile, although her once bright expression held an undertone of sadness.

"So you're leaving…" he began lamely, his eyes sliding shut for a moment as he internally cringed at his own words.

Her returning smile was a little more real this time, her amusement lightening her spirits.

"So it appears," she laughed in response.

Indra opened his mouth to speak but instead released the breath he had gathered in a huff. He grimaced as he stared at the ground, trying to find the words that he needed her to hear. They had spent so much time together but he felt as if there was so much left he needed to say. But, no matter how much he had thought on it, he couldn't come up with the magical words he needed that he knew he needed her to hear.

"Thank you, Sakura… And not just for saving my life and saving Asura's life. I will always be in your debt for what you've done for me and my family. Thank you for more than that. For your kindness, for your lessons, but, most all, your companionship…"

Sakura brought her hand up to cover her mouth, hiding her shocked and turbulent expression from him as tears began to build in the corners of her eyes.

"I am going to miss you very much," he confessed, feeling as his heart raced in his chest.

When Sakura surged forward and wrapped her arms around his middle, burying herself against his chest, he forgot how to draw breath. Despite all of the time they had spent together, they had never shared such a physical expression of affection. It took him a few heartbeats to finally return her tight hug, ignoring how the edges of her armor dug into his skin awkwardly as he held her.

If this was the last he would see of her, he would make this moment count. Indra's arms tightened around her, Sakura's returning nuzzle sending a rush of bliss through him. He settled his cheek against her hairline, settling into her embrace as his eyes slid shut.

Their embrace lasted for longer than Indra knew was appropriate for simple friends but, even so, it didn't feel like nearly long enough when they finally parted. His fingertips skimmed across the leather of the plates of her armor, actively refraining from grasping onto her to return her to their embrace.

"Indra, I…" Sakura started in a whisper, reaching up to wipe a tear that had slipped free.

Indra waited on baited breath for her to speak, a part of him hoping she would choose to stay.

When their eyes met, she gave him a half smile that spoke more sadness than joy.

"I'll be back one day," she stated instead.

Indra met her forced smile with one of his own. "I look forward to seeing you again…"

The two gazed into each others eyes for a long moment before Sakura finally looked away, her eyes instead drifting to the road ahead of her. His breath caught and his heart ached when he saw how beautiful she looked against the backdrop of the rising sun.

She frowned deeply before turning to face him once again. "Please take care of everyone for me."

"I will... Be safe… Sakura."

As Indra watched Sakura turn away and begin her trek down the dirt road leading out of the village, he felt as if she were taking a piece of him with her.

Shortly after Sakura's departure, Indra found himself in the area where she had trained during her stay. He stood in the clearing next to the river before quietly sitting at the water's edge instead. He gazed out at the rising sun as it slowly reached towards the top of the treeline, his eyebrows furrowed and his heart heavy.

He felt as if there was so much more he needed Sakura to hear, so much he needed to tell her. He hadn't even touched on all of the things in his heart and, now that she had left, he felt as if so much had been left unsaid.

He silently fretted as he gazed out at the sun without truly seeing, his thoughts warring with themselves as he felt the sense of loss her departure had left within him.

Indra could hear as footsteps approached him and, without even looking, he could recognize Asura's footfalls. He wondered what could be so important so early that his brother needed to seek him out. A part of him wished he could have this time to himself, this time to mourn for something that had never been and the loss of a friend as she returned to her own village halfway across the world.

Asura didn't even bother with a greeting, instead sitting down next to Indra on the river's edge, gazing out at the same rising sun in the distance.

"It's almost hard to believe she isn't here, isn't it?" Asura began, leaning back on his hands as he continued to gaze out at the sun rising through the trees.

"It is… I feel as if I'm simply waiting for her to arrive for one of our training sessions," Indra admitted easily, his voice distant.

Asura glanced over at him at that, his expression pinched in concern. His gaze returned ahead of him.

"She really made quite a difference in all of our lives, didn't she?"

"She did."

"I would even go as far as to say that she changed your life the most though."

"I think nearly everyone in the village would agree on that front," Indra returned with a quirked eyebrow, knowing he was the only one in the village who had an evil entity dragged from their body.

Asura laughed aloud, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there."

Indra quirked an eyebrow as he gazed into Asura's face, knowing there was something he wanted to say but that he was skirting around it.

"You're terrible at wordplay, brother. Go ahead and speak your mind," Indra informed bluntly.

Asura laughed aloud again, sitting up fully to settle his elbow on his knee and drop his chin into his palm. He smiled at his brother for a long moment before finally speaking.

"You should leave."

"Excuse me?" Indra demanded, expression contorting in offense.

"No, I mean! Uh, you're really right about that wordplay thing... What I meant is that you should go with Sakura," Asura amended quickly.

Indra could feel his cheeks heat before he looked away. "And why would I do such a thing? You just ascended to the head of the village. You're going to need my help as you bumble through leadership."

"For someone who always went on about how your eyes 'could see the truth in the world', you really are blind," Asura laughed, Indra looking back to glare at his little brother.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he grumbled in return.

"You may be good at… well, everything but I'm pretty good at picking up emotions. I can tell you have feelings for her."

"How could you…" Indra stopped himself before he continued, closing his eyes briefly before his gaze returned to the waters before them, "It matters not. After all I have done, she could never return such emotions…"

"You'd be surprised," Asura answered vaguely, drawing Indra's attention to him once more.

When Asura met Indra's gaze, it was with a wide smile.

"You wanted to leave before anyways, right? Maybe it'll be good for you. Explore the world a little bit, learn what life is like in her village. Go on your own pilgrimage," his little brother suggested with a shrug.

"I couldn't abandon everyone like that. I need to be here to help you and the rest of our friends," Indra argued.

"Hey, I'm not that bad! Besides, I'll have father around to help me learn. And it's not like you'd be gone forever, right?"

"I…"

"At the very least, you should talk to her. Tell you what you feel. It's eating you up inside, I could feel how upset you were from the village."

Indra grimaced before glaring off to the side, Asura laughing. When Indra's gaze returned to his brother and he was met with that smile of his, however, he couldn't keep the scowl on his face.

"We'll always be here. I'll always be here, brother. But I think you need this… Everything will be fine. I promise," Asura promised, his words and his expression so heartfelt that Indra couldn't help but believe him.

When Indra finally came upon Sakura after following the path she had taken out of the village, she turned to face his footsteps with an expression that betrayed her readiness to fight. When her gaze met his, however, her expression softened into surprise.

"Indra? What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone betraying her confusion.

"Sakura, I… I have something I need to say to you, something I need you to hear. I couldn't let you leave without you hearing it," he fumbled, his heart flying in his chest from more than just the run to reach her.

"Of course… What do you need to say?" Sakura replied softly, her voice gentle as she gazed up at him through her eyelashes.

Indra struggled for his words once again, not knowing how to phrase the emotions in his chest. He couldn't come up with the words he needed to truly explained to her how she made him feel, how he felt after she had left, and what he felt for her now.

Instead, he took a half step forward, his hands reaching out to gently cradle her face. He could feel the heat of her cheeks against his fingertips and felt pinned by her stunning viridian gaze. Throwing caution to the wind, he finally gave in to what he had wanted for so long and surged forward to kiss her.

Her lips were soft and warm against his and were everything he had ever dreamed. His heart soared in his chest as she reached up to grasp his arms, her own lips moving against his so sweetly that it took his breath away.

It felt as if his entire life had lead up to this moment, as if every step he had ever taken had been leading him to her. As she kissed him back, he felt as if a missing piece of his own heart was finally being returned to him.

His thumbs skimmed across her cheeks as he tilted his head to deepen their kiss, basking in the euphoria of her affection. Their lips moved against one anothers sweetly, him pulling back a hair's breadth away only to return to languidly kiss her one, two, three more times.

When they finally broke apart, they were both panting. As they gazed into each others eyes, he desperately tried to communicate to her what he was unable to with words.

Sakura smiled up at him, understanding.

"Come with me," she offered.

He smiled in return, dropping his forehead against hers.

Indra hadn't expected that it would be five years before he finally returned home.

If he had known it would have been so long, he would have made sure to have given everyone a proper farewell. Despite having send numerous hawks with messages to his brother, a communication which Asura often used to get his advice, Indra still felt as if he had left everyone too abruptly.

He was happy to return home so he could finally apologize and see his family.

He watched as the forest surrounding the dirt road they traveled opened up to reveal the achingly familiar village before him. It had been so long since he had been here but it seemed as if the village had hardly changed. The same wooden walls surrounded the village, the same fields were being tilled in preparation for planting, and the same river ran along the edge of the village.

Even though everything was so familiar, he could still feel a ball of apprehension building within him.

His attention, and his rising anxiety, was broken by a squeeze to his hand. He looked down to the child whose small hand he held in time to catch the pink haired girl look up at him with a megawatt smile spread across her face.

"Is that it, father?" the young girl at his side asked excitedly, pointing to the village in the distance that they slowly grew closer to.

"It is," he replied with an amused smirk, shaking his head in mirth as his daughter made a noise of excitement and tried to pull him along faster.

"Show some patience, sweetheart. We're going to be there for some time. And you don't want to wake your brother, do you?" a light voice spoke up from his side, Indra looking over to gaze at his wife.

His eyes flicked down to their son, wrapped up and strapped across Sakura's front for easy breastfeeding during travel and noticed the dark haired babe was still peacefully sleeping. Beneath the carefully wrapped cloths that contained their baby was her slowly growing belly, their third child safely nestled within.

Even with his family by his side, Indra could feel as his anxiety continued to mount. How was Asura leading? How was their father fairing? Or the people of the village? Did his brother have a family as well? Would they fall back into easy companionship or would their time and distance apart make it difficult to get along as they once had?

This time, it was his opposite hand being squeezed that drew his attention. When he turned to face Sakura, she was looking up at him with that bright, warm smile of hers that he had fallen in love with.

"Are you ready?" she asked and, even with his growing apprehension, he felt as if he could face whatever came with her at his side.

Indra smiled back, lacing their fingers together in return. "Of course, my love."

Sakura's smile widened as she reached over to pull him down into a tender kiss. She happily nestled against their side as they entered the village together, hand in hand.

A/N: Whoops, I meant to have more of Sakura's POV in this fic. I guess Indra stole the show on this one.

Random fan theory: I have a loose theory that the cause of the curse of hatred, in a more physical way than psychological, is Zetsu. During one of the scenes where Zetsu appears to Indra, he appears to be more of an apparition than a solid being like he was during his first appearance. I think that he infected Indra and has been living inside of him, causing his negative emotions to amplify as he tries to control him. I think this is also true with Madara as, when Madara "creates" Black Zetsu as a physical "manifestation of his will", Zetsu comes from within him.

Food for thought.