Part XV: My Village

"Mmm…" Naruto mumbled as he slowly stirred himself awake. He didn't want to wake up but he felt someone holding his hand, or at least he felt some sort of pressure on his hand through some cloth. He opened his eyes but saw darkness. What the-? "Sora?" he asked while he attempted to move his hand to grasp hers. He couldn't move his fingers.

"N-no, uh, I'm s-sorry, Naruto-k-kun," a timid, female voice said.

Naruto felt the pressure from his hand be removed. I don't recognize…hm… "Then who are you?" he asked. "And where am I?"

"Um, we're i-in the Konoha h-hospital, a-and I-I'm H-hinata," the voice stammered nervously.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said. Duh! he mentally kicked himself. "Oh, sorry, I guess I've been sort of out of it, huh?" He laughed a little foolishly.

Hinata swallowed hard and blushed a deep red. Luckily the bandages over Naruto's eyes kept him from seeing her. "Yes," she said softly. "You've been unconscious for three days."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted and started moving frantically so that he could sit up and tear the bandage over his eyes off.

"N-no, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said and held him still. "Y-you're not well enough to get up! The nurse told me i-if you woke up to not let you get out of bed!"

"But-but where's Sasuke?" he almost gasped.

"He's gone."

Naruto stopped struggling and became still.

"I'm sorry."

No, he…he didn't come back? Then how'd I get here? But wait, he didn't kill me like I thought he was going to…but I don't understand why he would kill me if I was his best friend? ACK! I'm so confused! "Hinata-chan," he said in a calm voice.

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Is it all right if you take the bandage off my eyes?"

"Uh…" She turned her head towards the closed door almost as if she was expecting a nurse to come in at that moment and tell her if it was ok or not. "I-I don't know…"

"Please, Hinata-chan," Naruto pleaded.

Hinata glanced back towards the door one more time, but then she shakily lifted his head and unwrapped the bandage that covered his eyes. A few seconds later, she pulled the bandage from off of his head and placed it on the table next to her.

Naruto waited a moment before he actually opened his eyes. He had the sense to think that the light might be blinding. Then he opened his eyes slowly. Sure enough, it was basically the middle of the day and the window curtains were wide open. He quickly shut them again.

"A-are you f-feeling well, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a tiny, high-pitched voice.

Naruto opened his eyes once more and was able to stand the light somewhat better. He turned his head stiffly towards Hinata and let his vision focus. Her face formed out of the blur he saw and soon his eyes were adjusted. "I'm fine, Hinata-chan, thank you," he said softly. "I just can't believe I didn't bring him back."

"Please don't be hard on yourself," she said quickly.

Naruto sighed and turned his head back to a neutral position. He stared hard at the ceiling, and for a while nobody spoke. Outside, the two Genins could hear the villagers in the streets constructing, buying, selling…life seemed to just go on normally without a thought to what had happened three days ago.

"Hinata?" Naruto finally broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"Did…did the others…make it back too?"

"Yes," Hinata nodded. "They're all doing very well now. You're the last one to regain consciousness."

"Oh," Naruto said and continued staring at the ceiling. Then a funny thought came to him and he snickered out a laugh.

"Uh, Naruto-kun?"

"Hehe, sorry, Hinata," Naruto said calming himself but he still had a broad smile across his face. "I was just thinking that I probably look like some half-dead mummy now, don't I?"

Hinata blushed and looked down. "No, you look good," she barely murmured.

Then the door burst open with a loud thwack causing both of the Genins in the room to jump, except Naruto couldn't really move.

"Oh, geez, sorry there Hinata-chan!" Kiba said upon noticing that he and the others with him had scared her.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata gasped.

"I told you not to rush in there!" Shikamaru said with annoyance in his voice.

The familiar sound of chomping potato chips followed into the room and then, "Neji-nii-san," Hinata said and bowed slightly to her older cousin.

"Hinata-sama," Neji said in return.

"So how's he doing?" Kiba asked walking over to the bed.

"I'm awake, you know," Naruto said frowning.

"Dude! He's awake you guys!" Kiba said in surprise.

"Obviously…" Shikamaru muttered and came over to Naruto's bedside as well. "So, how're you feeling?" he asked in a nicer tone.

"Uh, fine, I guess," Naruto answered. "Considering…"

"Yeah, but you should've seen yourself a few days ago," Kiba commented. "Man, you looked like a mummy!"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata scolded.

"Hehe, it's true."

"Uh, guys?" Naruto said.

"Yeah?" Shikamaru replied.

"I can't exactly move so am I still wrapped in bandages?" he asked.

"Well, not as many as before," Shikamaru said. "I think it's just because you're still recovering from the massive amount of Chakra you lost during your fight."

"Oh…"

"But the Hokage said that you should be back on your feet by tomorrow," Kiba added helpfully.

"That's good," Naruto said. "But, you guys are all ok?"

They all replied in the affirmative.

"Even Chouji's back to his normal size now," Kiba joked.

"And damn proud of it!" Chouji said stuffing more chips in his mouth.

"Excuse me," a woman's voice interrupted their little reunion.

The boys and Hinata looked towards the door. It was a nurse.

"Um, I'm guessing he's awake," she said and entered the room pushing a small cart in front of her.

"Yes, he is," Shikamaru answered.

The nurse got to Naruto's bedside and took a good look at him. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with taking off the rest of his bandages," she said. "If you gentlemen and lady would excuse us."

"Oh," Hinata said and nodded. "Of course." She and the other boys exited the room closing the door behind them.

"Did you tell him?" Shikamaru asked Hinata.

She shook her head. "No, I…" she trailed off. "I was going to, but then…the first thing he said when he woke up…was her name."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "He's not going to take it well."

"None of us have," Kiba said with a frown. "And it doesn't look like the Hokage's doing anything about it."

The group fell silent for a while until Hinata spoke again. "Perhaps we should let the Hokage tell Naruto about her," she said softly.

"Good idea," Shikamaru agreed. "I'll go tell her that he's awake." He walked down the hallway leaving the rest of his group behind.

"I'm not so sure if the Hokage would be the best person to tell him," Kiba commented. "I mean, not only has she not done anything about it, she wouldn't let anyone go look for her."

"Sh-she must have her reasons," Hinata said quietly.

"I can't think of any good ones," Kiba grunted.

The door opened and the Genins saw the nurse come out with a pile of bandages on her cart. "He's all unwrapped now," she said brightly.

"Thank you," Hinata said and bowed politely.

The nurse nodded and pushed her cart down the hallway.

The group turned back towards the door of Naruto's room and saw him standing right in the doorway.

"I am so ready to get out of here," Naruto said stretching his arms out in front of him. "You won't believe how stiff I am."

"I don't think it's such a good idea for you to leave just yet," Neji said.

"What? I don't want to stay here! And I feel fine!" Naruto insisted.

"Neji-nii-san is right, Naruto-kun," Hinata said quickly. "The Hokage specifically said to keep you in the hospital until tomorrow."

"Since when did I ever listen to her?" Naruto asked with a cheeky smile.

"He's got a point," Kiba said smirking.

"It's not like she can do anything to m-"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Tsunade's voice interrupted him.

"AIYEEE!" Naruto screamed and stumbled backwards in fright. Out of nowhere, Tsunade had appeared right in front of him in a puff of smoke.

"Hokage-sama!" Hinata gasped and immediately bowed her head.

"If you four could excuse us, I need to talk to Naruto in private," the Sannin said.

"Of course," they said simultaneously and began to sidestep away from Tsunade and Naruto. They saw her drag him back into the room and shut the door.

"I almost feel sorry for him," Neji said dryly.

"Yeah, almost," Kiba added with a laugh.

Naruto-kun…Hinata thought worriedly. I hope the Hokage doesn't do anything drastic.

"Sit down, Naruto," Tsunade instructed.

"What's this about now, Granny?" he asked in a bored manner without sitting down.

Tsunade frowned but held her temper. "First of all, I'm not your granny. Secondly, you should always listen to your Hokage, and if you haven't, you'd better start now. Thirdly, I have something very important to tell you so if you would shut up and-"

"Is it about Sasuke?" Naruto asked frantically.

"Eh-hem, no." Tsunade pushed him forcefully to a sitting position on the bed.

Naruto frowned back at Tsunade.

"It's about your other teammate."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What, Sora?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen her at all for-"

"Naruto please keep your mouth shut," Tsunade said and rubbed her temples. "Now, I don't want you running around the village today at least, so I'm going to order you to stay here until tomorrow and then you are to directly report to me. Is that understood?"

Naruto nodded his head with reluctance but kept himself quiet.

"Now," Tsunade continued. "Sora left Konoha the same night that Sasuke left, but-"

"WHAT?" He jumped to his feet only to be forced back down by the extremely strong and annoyed woman in front of him.

"I have sent someone to investigate the matter, and I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to go after her in your condition."

"I don't give a damn about my condition! I have to find her!" Naruto shouted and got up again.

Tsunade pushed him back down. "I forbid you to go after her!" she commanded in a loud, authoritative voice. "And you will obey!"

"Like hell I will!"

"Like hell, you will!" Tsunade growled. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I could have you secured in the hospital with someone watching you 24/7, or I could let you continue your duty as a Konoha ninja. Do you understand me?"

Naruto clenched his teeth and fists and looked down. "I understand," he forced himself to say through his teeth.

Tsunade stared hard at the boy in front of her. "Good," she finally said and then turned to leave. She opened the door and stepped out into the hall but then turned back around. "Naruto," she said in a much kinder tone.

Naruto didn't look up or answer.

Tsunade sighed. "You have to understand," she said gently. "I'm doing this for your own good."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and still refused to look up.

She sighed again and closed the door.

"I'll be watching him," a man's voice said to her in the hallway.

"Hm, and when did you get here?" she asked without looking to see who it was. She already knew he had been there waiting for her.

"This morning," the man replied. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're doing the right thing, Tsunade."

"Am I?" she asked flatly and looked up. "I don't know if I'm really cut out to be Hokage."

"If there was anyone Sensei would have chosen to succeed him, it would've been you," Jiraiya said.

"I don't know," Tsunade said and looked back down. "But did you talk to Shizune today?" she asked changing the subject somewhat.

"I did," the frog tamer said nodding his head. "So you're sending her after Sora, are you?"

"Yeah, well, she volunteered," Tsunade said. "And with her gone, I'll have to face all those papers alone…"

"Haha," Jiraiya said dryly. "But anyway, I told her everything that Sensei told me about Sora, and I think it's important for you to know as well."

"Hm. Well, let's go to my office so there'll be no interruptions."

Jiraiya nodded. Then he did a quick summoning jutsu and the tiniest frog appeared. "Keep an eye on Naruto in there, ok?"

"Yes, sir!" the miniature amphibian squeaked. He hopped out of Jiraiya's hand onto the floor and then squirmed under the door with a tiny pop.

"All right, let's go," Jiraiya said. Then the two Sannin started for Tsunade's office.

Running…running…it was nothing but running for three days. No food or rest, she didn't feel the need for it. There was no stopping her until she reached her destination. Snow. She was close.

"Do you remember the myth about the fallen Angel?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade once they were in her office, safe from any interruptions.

"Yes, I remember it quite well."

"What if it was all true?"

Tsunade looked at her longtime friend and teammate. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"I know you're a skeptic of ancient legends such as this," Jiraiya said noticing her odd look. "But based on what Sarutobi-sensei told me before he died, this girl could very well likely be her."

"But it is a myth," Tsunade said sitting down at her desk. "There's no physical evidence that supports it."

"There is."

Tsunade looked hard into Jiraiya's eyes. He was definitely not joking.

Finally she stopped running. She had arrived. The shambles of her village were covered in a layer of snow that was being added to by the second. Her red eyes scanned the area. Everything was exactly how she remembered it. No one had been here since she'd left.

Taking a deep breath, she began to walk through the empty, disordered streets. The images flooded back into her memory. Painful images, of fire, suffering, and death… She walked by the village market. It was once alive with people selling and buying, laughing, talking…just enjoying life. Now there was no one but her. The charred wood that once held foods and trinkets of all kinds was now scattered messily on the ground covered by snow. She walked on.

"It is said that the scrolls that hold the history of that time were taken to be sealed in a hidden village high in the mountains, almost impossible to find without already knowing the way."

"Hm, sounds familiar…" Tsunade said slightly sarcastically.

"Just hear me out," Jiraiya said. "The words of the Angel that were recorded on those scrolls were too powerful to be put in another place. The curse could only be held in those scrolls if they were put in that village, where it snows most and sometimes all of the year."

"Kousetsu?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly."

Too many painful memories came screaming back into her mind again. She turned from the broken, battered buildings and started towards the center of the village where she had once lived. She kept her eyes down so she wouldn't have to look at her surroundings which were already imprinted in her mind. Her walk broke into a run. She needed to find him. She needed to find her father.

"Some say that the very soul of that Angel is kept in the scrolls. If that is indeed true, they should be kept closed at all costs. It would be disastrous for anyone, let alone the Angel herself, to open them."

"And you're saying that Sora is this Angel?" Tsunade asked still not sure whether she believed what Jiraiya was saying.

The white-haired Sannin nodded. "At least, that's what Sarutobi-sensei concluded."

She ran towards the shamble that she once called home. Only when she reached the front gate did she slow to a walk. Her body was physically weak from the lack of food and rest. She was unhealthily thin and pale, and the skin under her eyes sagged, but yet she didn't feel tired. Something kept her going. It felt like with every step she took towards the center of her village, she seemed to get stronger.

She opened the door slowly, trying not to disturb the fragile beams that held up what was left of the house. It was dangerous for her to be inside the house since it could fall at any moment, but she didn't think about that.

Most of the walls were knocked out or burned down. It was incredible that the house still stood. Sifting through the broken beams, she searched every nook and cranny for the body of her father. And finally, she found what she was looking for.

"So what do you propose we do about this?" Tsunade asked getting more exasperated by the minute. "If what you say is true, then this could open up another 'dark era' for, well, everyone!"

"Please calm down," Jiraiya said stoutly. He closed his eyes to think. "Even though Konoha is in a crisis right now, I think the best thing to do is to try and get a few ninjas together to go to this village and get the scrolls before Sora finds them."

"Do you have any idea where her village is?" Tsunade huffed. "Shizune's going out there to find it, blindly! And she's going to return to the village in two weeks regardless of what she finds. I doubt that she'll come back with anything!"

Jiraiya opened his eyes. "I agree," he said. "This means that others should be sent out to look as well."

"Did you not just say a few seconds ago that Konoha is in a crisis?" Tsunade almost yelled. "The reason I let Shizune go is because, one, she volunteered, and two, because I don't have anyone else qualified to go on a dangerous mission like that!"

"Tsunade-"

"AND, I've got Orochimaru to worry about on top of everything!"

"Well, he's not going to strike until he's gotten his slimy soul into Sasuke's body."

"But all the same, we don't want him to get his slimy soul into Sasuke's body in the first place. And I'm going to have to keep Naruto and his buddies under control to not run off to look for either of them during their missions!"

"Don't think too little of Naruto and the other Genins," Jiraiya said. "They're all very loyal to Konoha and-"

"But," Tsunade interrupted, "if what you say is true about Sora, then the damage might already be done. How powerful do you estimate the Angel is now?"

"Hm," Jiraiya contemplated thoughtfully. "I would say that she's beginning to be powerful enough to take over Sora's mind, that's for sure. Through the circumstances…"

"What circumstances?"

Jiraiya sighed and ran a hand through his long, spiky hair. "From what I've seen, one of the main reasons why Sasuke and Naruto fight so much is because of her. The legend ties the Angel with the Uchiha clan and the Fox demon."

"This is just great."

"Come on, Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "We have to think through this clearly."

His body was almost perfectly preserved since it snowed most or sometimes all of the year in the village. She didn't shed any tears. It was too late for that. She had to right her wrongs. There was no time for remorse.

She picked up the frozen body and placed it on the snow-covered ground outside. Then, by using some of the scattered beams, she destroyed the remaining structures of the house. It soon came crashing to the ground causing puffs of snow and particles to rise into the air and then settle back down. She took the dryer pieces of wood and tied them in a bundle with the wire she had brought with her in her weapons pouch. She carried the wood over to the temple that was only a short walk away from the house.

Stone and wood were scattered across the courtyard. The pillars and stairs leading up to the temple had huge chunks missing from them. Everything was in decay.

Soon, she found what she was looking for. It was covered by some debris, but she soon removed that. The stone altar still stood completely intact.

"So, you want me to send you and Naruto off to find her?" Tsunade asked incredulously while emphasizing each pronoun by pointing her finger back and forth between Jiraiya and herself.

The frog tamer nodded. "If no one else is available, that is exactly what I want you to do."

Tsunade laughed. "And I just told him that I forbade him to look for her."

"Well, it was a good thing you did," Jiraiya said surprising Tsunade. "If you didn't, he would've run off to look for her by himself."

"Hm…"

"And if he's with me, I can still watch over him like I said back at the hospital."

"I guess…"

"Also, I hate to bring this up, but while I was outside of Konoha, I heard rumors that the Akatsuki group is still on the move."

"Great, another thing to worry about…"

"But listen to my point," Jiraiya said quickly. He leaned in. "If I take Naruto with me to look for Sora, the Akatsuki won't know where he'll be or where he's going. It's a win-win situation." He smiled cheekily at his brilliant thinking.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and sweat dropped. "Uh-huh."

"And," Jiraiya said enthusiastically, "this will also keep him out of your hair and out of Orochimaru's affairs! Everything will be just as you want it and more!"

"You've really thought through this, haven't you?"

"Ehehe…yeah."

Tsunade pushed her chair back from her desk and swiveled it around so that she could look out the wall made of windows. The sunlight fell down across the village making it look bright and cheery when really, Tsunade knew it was far from being either.

"What d'you say?" Jiraiya said coming up behind her.

The blonde Sannin sighed heavily and looked up at her long-time teammate and friend. "Go ahead," she said with a tired but approving nod.

"I knew you'd like my idea," Jiraiya said wagging his finger in her face.

"I will be very tempted to break that finger of yours very soon if you don't remove it from in front of my face."

Jiraiya laughed but took his finger away nonetheless. "All right then," he said and began walking for the door of Tsunade's office. "Naruto and I will see you before we go tomorrow."

Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya disappeared into the hall. I hope he's right about everything, she thought. I still feel uncomfortable about sending Naruto out after his fight with Sasuke. Even if his physical wounds heal, the level that the Fox was able to take over him was alarming. If something were to happen… Tsunade shook her head. No, I should have faith in Jiraiya. He did teach the Fourth, after all.

She placed the body of her beloved father on the altar. The village had a tradition that their leaders' fallen souls would be respected if the village offered up their bodies on the altar to the heavens. To leave dead bodies without paying the proper respects to them would mean that theirs souls would not be able to enter heaven or hell, a sort of cruel purgatory that they didn't deserve. At the time, she had been too scared to give those respects to anyone in the village. She had left them in their purgatories for so long…

She went inside the temple and brought back a torch that had long gone out, but the oils inside of it were still useful. She lit it with flint and stone and then threw it onto the altar. The fire was small at first but soon became a roaring blaze. She stared into the flames for a moment but then snapped out of her dream. There were so many other souls still lost because of her.

Jiraiya went back to the hospital and straight to Naruto's room. He heard nothing as he stood outside his door in the hall. He frowned and then opened the door slowly, slightly doubting that Naruto had actually stayed. To his great surprise, Naruto was sitting in front of the window leaning on his elbows. Jiraiya chuckled slightly causing Naruto to turn his head to see who had entered.

"Oh, it's you," he said flatly.

"What? Not happy to see your sensei?" Jiraiya asked feigning hurt.

Normally, Naruto would've jumped up and apologized a million times, but he was too busy groping in his depression of failing to bring Sasuke back and losing Sora all in three days. He turned his head back around and resumed staring blankly out the hospital window.

Jiraiya frowned again. "Naruto," he said. "I know that you're frustrated, but I do have some good news."

Naruto immediately jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair. "What? Quick, tell me!" he demanded.

"Now, don't be so jumpy," Jiraiya said sternly. "You are still in recovery."

Naruto bit his tongue to keep himself from speaking.

"Better," Jiraiya said. "Ok, well, I talked with the Hokage and convinced her that it would be best if you didn't go after Sasuke again."

"What?" Naruto said shocked. "I thought you said you had good news!"

"Eh-hem," Jiraiya said and folded his hands across his chest. "I wasn't finished."

"Sorry."

"Hm, so, I then convinced her that you should come with me to research where Sora's village might-"

"Are you serious? She just told me that I was forbidden to look for her!" Naruto shouted. "Then we've gotta leave right away!" He started for the door only to be caught by the back of his shirt by the calm but annoyed Sannin.

"Not today, Naruto," he said and pulled Naruto back in front of him in one fluid motion. "Now, listen to all of what I have to say before you do anything."

The sun was setting and she had not even buried a fourth of the villagers. Almost every single victim had been in some sort of contorted position. Others had been crushed under the toppled walls and roofs of fallen buildings. Still others, she could not even find.

Looking towards the sky, she knew that she wouldn't be able to see what she was doing once the last of the sun's rays disappeared. She stopped her work and stood for a moment thinking. She needed a place to stay for the night since she'd probably freeze if she slept outside. And she needed sleep. The only building that was sure not to fall at any moment since it was mostly made of stone was the temple.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, all right?" Jiraiya said after briefing Naruto on the situation.

"Right."

"And I expect you to be in top notch condition."

Naruto grunted.

"Meaning, I want you to stay in this room until I, no one else, I come and get you. Understood?"

"Fine."

"Good." Jiraiya turned to leave when the tiny frog that he had summoned to watch Naruto crawled up to his shoulder right below his ear.

"You know that there's someone outside in the hall listening," he squeaked so that only Jiraiya could hear.

"What?" Jiraiya whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Naruto asked coming over to him. He didn't notice the frog.

"Eh-herm." Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Stay right there," he said quietly.

"Uh…?"

Jiraiya put a finger to his mouth signaling Naruto to be quiet. Then he crept over to the door without making a sound.

Naruto stared at the white-haired man with confusion written all over his face.

Then quicker than lightening, Jiraiya swung open the door, grabbed the person standing out in the hall by the arm, threw her inside the room, and slammed the door shut again.

"AHH!" the person screamed as she was thrown directly into Naruto.

"WAH? Hinata-chan?" Naruto shouted as he and Hinata toppled to the floor. "What the hell was that for?" he shouted at his sensei.

"Hm," Jiraiya said as he straightened his shirt. "She was eavesdropping."

"I-I…" Hinata stuttered helplessly in a high-pitched voice as she clutched onto Naruto's shirt. She was almost in tears from shock and fear.

"You didn't have to throw her in here!" Naruto shouted angrily as he held Hinata in his arms.

Jiraiya shrugged and then walked over to Hinata and Naruto. "All right, all right, I'm sorry," he finally said and helped both of the Genins up. "I guess I overreacted a bit, but I did purposely throw you into Naruto so that you wouldn't get hurt by falling on the floor or anything."

Only then did Hinata notice the position she was in. She looked up at Naruto for a split second and quickly looked down again with her face a deep scarlet. Naruto hadn't let go of her yet.

Naruto snorted at his sensei. "That's still no excuse," he said. Then he looked down at Hinata. "Hey, are you ok, Hinata-chan?" he asked gently.

Hinata almost fainted but she kept her consciousness. "I-I'm fine, th-thank you," she whispered and pulled away from Naruto before she could get too caught up in the moment. She felt Naruto's arms slip off of her back causing her to shiver involuntarily.

Naruto didn't notice but Jiraiya sure did. "Hm, well, it looks like since you've probably heard everything…" he said to Hinata.

"I-uh-"

"Ah, it can't be helped, Naruto," Jiraiya purposely cut Hinata off. "I guess she'll have to come with us in order to keep from spilling the beans to anyone else."

"What?" both Naruto and Hinata asked completely shocked.

Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "It's the only solution I can think of," he said as he nodded his head. "Tomorrow morning at six o'clock sharp, the three of us will go to the Hokage's office and then be off to find Sora's village."

"I-I-"

"Are you serious?" Naruto said. "It's gonna be dangerous! We shouldn't force her into going without even asking her if she wants to! I mean, couldn't we die on this thing?"

Hinata glanced at Naruto nervously. Is he saying this because he cares about me or does he just not want me to go…?

"Fine then," Jiraiya said. He turned to Hinata who quickly reverted her eyes back to the floor. "Hinata?"

"Yes, Sensei?" she barely whispered.

"In order to keep our mission a secret, it is most certainly preferable if you would accompany us in our search for Sora's village. But under the circumstances, and Naruto's concern, I am going to ask if you would go with us on this potentially dangerous mission."

Hinata's heart rate went up a million beats per minute. She could feel her face turn red.

"Hinata-chan? Are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked and reached out a hand to feel her forehead.

But before his hand could reach her, her head shot up. "Yes! I would like to go with you to find Sora!" she said suddenly.

Naruto brought his hand back to himself in surprise. Whoa, if I remember right, she's usually not like this, is she? he thought.

Jiraiya smiled in triumph. "All right, then it's settled," Jiraiya said. "Tomorrow, Hinata and I will meet you at the Hokage's tower at 6 sharp. Don't be late!" Then Jiraiya turned to leave. He noticed that Hinata didn't follow. "Uh, Hinata?"

Hinata turned towards the Sannin and bowed politely. "Yes, Sensei?"

"I'll walk you back home," he said kindly. "I think both you and Naruto need all the rest you can get before we leave."

"Oh, of course," Hinata said and followed Jiraiya out the door.

"I still want you to stay here, ok?" Jiraiya muttered under his breath to the tiny frog on his shoulder.

"You got it, Boss," he squeaked and jumped off.

The next morning, Naruto was ready to go to the Hokage's office at 5:30. He had never been so ready to get to an appointment in his whole life, but of course, this was so he could find Sora. He couldn't be late. He wouldn't allow himself to be late.

Naruto left the hospital room, still oblivious to the fact that a small frog had latched itself onto his pant leg, and he made his way to the receptionist's desk. It was empty so he just signed himself out and left the hospital. The air was crisp since autumn had completely taken over. Naruto took a deep breath. It felt good to be back outside again. He couldn't stand to be cooped up in a small hospital room for so long. He was amazingly rid of all his soreness from the day before and he quickly ran towards the Hokage Tower where he knew the others would meet him.

Hinata checked one last time to see if she had everything she needed with her. Jiraiya had said that the mission might last from a week up to a month if they could not find anything early on. After a month, they would return home regardless. The thought of being with Naruto for a whole month made her heart jump, but she suppressed her happiness since she knew that this was a serious mission, and also the fact that Naruto liked Sora…and not her.

She sighed heavily and slipped her pack onto her shoulders. She had already told her father that she was called to go on a secret mission and that she couldn't exactly tell him what it was; only that she was going with the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya. At that, her father asked no more questions and gave his permission.

Hinata stepped outside of the Hyuuga estate and made sure to avoid her cousin's early training spot. If he saw her, then he'd ask her where she was going, and she couldn't lie. It was best if she wasn't seen by anyone, especially him, since she knew that Neji also had feelings for Sora. That made Hinata sigh again.

I'm not jealous… she told herself stubbornly. But inside she knew that she had always been jealous of Sora ever since she had found out that Naruto liked her. But Sora's my friend, Hinata told herself in an attempt to keep her emotions down. It's not my place to dictate who people like…it's not my place… She wiped her eyes since they had become slightly wet. Then she ran toward the center of the village where the Hokage Tower stood.

"Changing your plan at the last minute, eh?" Tsunade asked with annoyance in her voice. She hadn't gone home at all that night because she was determined to make up all the papers she had slacked off on in order to ease her guilt on sending Shizune off. She had drunken almost thirty cups of tea to keep her awake, but she finished most of late papers.

"But you know my reasons, right," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade sighed. She stood up and stretched a bit and then sat back down. "I don't know if you should meddle in something like that, Jiraiya," she said and took a sip of her tea. "Messing with people's lives is not a go-"

"I'm not, as you say, 'messing' with people's lives," Jiraiya huffed. "This is also a win-win situation!"

"Do explain…"

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "If Naruto realizes that he is, in fact, not in love with Sora, then things will be much better for him and for the outcome of this might-be disaster. Also, Hinata is, without any doubt in my mind, hopelessly in love with Naruto and by doing this it would also benefit her life! AND," he said before Tsunade could retort. "Hinata's Byakugan will be extremely helpful to me on the mission."

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "You're going to screw everything up," she warned.

"I am the expert on love!" Jiraiya declared. "Have you not read my books? Screwing up is not an option for me!"

"Uh-huh…"

Knock, knock.

"Come in," Tsunade called to the door expecting it to be Hinata.

Jiraiya cleared his throat nervously hoping that whoever it was outside didn't hear his little speech.

The door opened and to both of the adults' surprise, it was Naruto. "I'm here," he said and closed the door. From the way he was acting, he hadn't heard what Jiraiya was conspiring.

"Nice of you to join us, Naruto," Tsunade said with a smug smile to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya glared back at her.

"My, aren't you here early though," she continued and glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 5:48.

"I wouldn't be late for something like this," Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Where's Hinata-chan?"

"Getting impatient, eh?" Tsunade said and leaned back in her chair. "We still have twelve minutes."

Naruto frowned but said nothing.

Jiraiya, now sure that Naruto hadn't heard what he had said to Tsunade earlier, put his confident smile back on.

There was total silence for a while, but each was filled with his or her own thoughts. Naruto, about the mission that was ahead of him and the hope of finding Sora. Tsunade, about how insanely tired she was and how much she was looking forward to being rid of Naruto (and Jiraiya) for possibly a whole month. Jiraiya, about ways he could try to get Naruto and Hinata together without making it seem like he was doing anything. Then there was a soft knock on the door that sounded louder than it really was since it was so quiet in the office. The three jerked to attention again.

"Come in," Tsunade called.

Sure enough, Hinata opened the door and entered the office. She looked around and saw that she was the last person to come. "I-I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," she said in a high voice and bowed nervously.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Naruto said and patted her shoulder. "It's still five till six anyway." He smiled.

Hinata tried in vain to keep her face its normal color.

Jiraiya chuckled but stopped once he saw Tsunade eyeing him dangerously.

"So," Tsunade said and looked back over to the two Genins. "Jiraiya has told me about the new addition to the group." She nodded at Hinata. "I now give you my permission to leave the village in search of Sora's village. If, by chance, you find it, you are to bring back the scrolls that are kept in the lowest floor of the temple located in the center of the village. Or so we hope." She glanced at Jiraiya who nodded with confidence. "If you do not find the village within one month, you are to return back here regardless. Understood?"

The three nodded, though Naruto did so somewhat reluctantly.

"And if you happen to run into Shizune, tell her that she is to accompany you for the remainder of your mission, and then she is to return with you to the village." Tsunade leaned back and tried to think if she was missing anything. Then she remembered. "Oh yes, and one more thing. If you find Sora, you will rely on Jiraiya's judgment whether or not to bring her back and-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto said getting angry. "The whole point of this was to find her in the first pl-"

"This mission is for you three to bring back the scrolls!" Tsunade growled. "NOT specifically to find Sora although there is a good chance that you might."

"MIGHT?" Naruto shouted.

"If you do not find her but you do indeed find the scrolls, you are to come back here directly. If you find nothing, you are to come back here directly. Is that understood?"

"I don't believe this!"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Everything will be explained once we start our journey."

Naruto clenched his teeth but managed to keep himself silent.

Naruto-kun… Hinata thought as she glanced at him. I've never seen him this angry before. It must be because he's in love with her… She held back a sigh that threatened to come out.

"Is everyone clear?" Tsunade asked once Jiraiya had calmed Naruto. She looked at each of the three. Jiraiya and Hinata nodded while Naruto just stared hard at the floor. Tsunade sighed heavily. "All right, you're free to go," she said wearily and waved her hand to dismiss them.

Jiraiya and Hinata gave a quick bow and then the three left the office.

The trio walked in an awkward silence for a long time with Jiraiya leading and the two Genins following. All the while, Hinata was trying to think of something comforting to say to Naruto, but she feared that she might make him angrier.

Suddenly Jiraiya stopped walking as they neared the thicker part of the northern woods. "All right," he said breaking the heavy silence.

The Genins looked up at him.

He turned around. "This is where we must keep our eyes and ears open. It could potentially be dangerous here, but hopefully, we won't run into anyone or anything."

"Um, are you sure this is the right way to Sora's village?" Hinata asked softly as she blushed slightly from embarrassment.

"That's an excellent question," Jiraiya said attempting to lighten the mood. He smiled. "I chose this way because her village is up in some mountain somewhere. The mountains on the other side of this forest are the tallest ones known."

"I see."

"And since it's up north, it snows more there than in the southern mountain ranges."

"Oh," Hinata said nodding her head. "But how do you know so much about her village if we don't know the name or location?"

"Mm," Jiraiya said with a knowing smile. "I guess now would be the best time to explain some things."

"Like how we're not leaving until we find Sora," Naruto said suddenly.

The Sannin's smile turned into a frown. "Eh-herm, no," he said and then set his pack on the ground and sat next to it. Hinata and Naruto did the same. "Sora is not the girl you think she is," he began. "According to what I and my sensei, the Third Hokage, have seen and researched, we believe that she could be a potential threat."

"What?" Naruto said. "How can-"

"Let me explain," Jiraiya interrupted. "You kids are much too young to know about many of the ancient legends, but to make it simple, we believe that Sora could possibly be a fallen angel."

The two Genins' mouths dropped open. They were completely stunned.

"If this theory is correct, then we must, at all costs, keep those scrolls away from Sora."

Hinata found her voice first. "Wh-what would happen if she found them?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Jiraiya looked over at Hinata. His expression was absolute seriousness. "There are ancient curses written in those scrolls. I can't say for sure, but if she were to open them, the power of the curses would bring the Angel inside of Sora back to her former power."

"And what would happen to Sora?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid she would cease to exist."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted and jumped up swinging his pack back over his shoulders. "We can't let that happen! We've got to go now!"

"Well," Jiraiya said and stood back up slowly. "The path through the woods is the easy part. Actually finding the entrance to the mountain pass is going to be difficult. Not to mention actually surviving the way up the pass. Then we actually have to find the village amidst the miles and miles of snow covered regions while keeping enough food with us to keep us alive for the journey there and hopefully back again. Since Sora's village was destroyed, there won't be any supplies-"

"Who cares? We just have to find her!" Naruto shouted and was about to start running when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Wait just a minute," Jiraiya said in a darker tone. He pulled Naruto back and set him down on the ground again. "Now listen to me," he said while towering over the blonde-haired boy. "The best case scenario is if we find the scrolls, they are not opened, and we still have time left. Then I will send the two of you back to the village with the scrolls and I will try to find Sora. But, if we find the scrolls and they are opened, then we will take them straight back to the village and report to the Hokage. If we find the village and the temple, and the scrolls are not there, we will return to the village and report to the Hokage immediately. Understood?"

Hinata shook in fear at the voice of the Sannin but nodded her head.

Naruto glared at Jiraiya. "So this mission isn't going to let me find her, is it?" he said hotly. "It's all about these scrolls, huh? What about her? She's more important than-"

"Naruto, there comes a time when we all must choose between two very difficult situations," Jiraiya said, his voice a little softer than before. "In this case, the choice is between her one life against the lives of everyone else in the world. It is not your place to decide."

"This can't be-"

"If Sora has already become the Angel, then it is our responsibility as ninjas, to protect our world. You don't know how powerful she is, Naruto. You don't know the consequences if she were to-"

"But these are all just guesses!" Naruto shouted. "This is all your guessing! You don't really know!"

Jiraiya had to agree with that. Although he was almost sure that Sora was indeed the one in the legend, he wouldn't bet his life on it. What if Sarutobi-sensei was wrong? he thought as he eyed an angry Naruto. If she is really the Angel, there's no other option than to kill her as soon as possible. But we can't do that unless we are absolutely sure she is the Angel. Otherwise, innocent blood will be shed… "Hm" he finally said out loud. "I suppose you're right, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected an answer like that.

Jiraiya got up and put his pack back on his shoulders. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see when the time comes," he sighed. "You are right to remind me that I must not jump to conclusions." He walked past the two Genins as Hinata quickly got to her feet. "Well, shall we continue?" he said without turning around.

Hinata glanced at Naruto nervously. She knew that on the inside, he was angry, confused, and maybe a little scared at the thought that Sora might be so different from the girl he thought she was. On the outside, he was trying to keep calm, but it was hard. Hinata sighed and gingerly put a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, are you all right?" she asked softly.

Naruto almost jumped at her light touch. "Y-yeah," he stuttered in surprise.

Hinata could see that he really wasn't. She looked ahead and saw Jiraiya continuing to walk away from them. She started walking as well and gently guided Naruto to do the same. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked shyly.

Naruto sighed. He really wanted to get what he was thinking off his chest, but he was afraid that by doing so, he would betray Sora. Something inside of him told him that more likely than not, he would not be able bring her back to the village even if he found her. He shuddered at the thought.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, uh, sorry, Hinata-chan," he said with a forced laugh.

She gave him a questioning look.

"I, well, I don't think I can talk about it right now," he finally said. He put his hands behind his head. "I have to get everything straight in my own mind first. But I'll tell you later."

"Oh, ok," Hinata said softly. The one time she had mustered up enough courage to ask Naruto to speak his mind to her, he had said no. She looked down felling incredibly discouraged.

"Hinata-chan?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of her name on his lips.

"Are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

Hinata swallowed hard. "I-I'm fine, thank you," she said quickly and kept her eyes down.

Naruto tilted his head to the side a little and raised an eyebrow. It was so obvious that she really liked him, but he had too much on his mind, namely a certain red-head, to notice. He looked back towards the front and the two walked together in silence.

It had been a full day of nothing but searching, digging, and burying. As evening approached, the sky became dark and ominous. A blizzard was on its way. The tired, thin girl finally stopped working and stepped back to look at what she had done. Row upon row of mounds as far as she could see, under which held the bodies of lost souls. She had finished.

She looked at the sky again. The snow began to fall more heavily. She had one more task to finish but she couldn't do it in a blizzard. It would have to wait until the storm had past, meaning she would have to spend at least one more night in the stone temple. Wearily, she walked towards the center of the village going once again through the empty, decrepit streets. At least the bodies are gone, she thought morbidly trying to comfort herself. Soon she stood in the temple courtyard. The stone altar still held the ashes of the village's fallen leader. The snow began to fall even harder than before. A gust of wind blew the snow on the ground and some of the ash on the altar upwards and landed some distance away tainting the perfectly white snow. She sighed heavily and went inside.

It was dark inside as the sun was quickly disappearing. She lit a fire in the center of the main hall for warmth. As she sat down on the cold stone floor next to the fire, she felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten in five days now. I guess I need to keep myself alive a bit longer, she thought with a sigh. She got out some of the food she had taken with her from Konoha and began to thaw them out over the fire. Outside, snow was falling like a solid white sheet and the wind screamed through the cracks in the walls. The sound echoed throughout the hall making a dead, hollow sound. She brought her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She had nothing but her thin ninja dress on. She normally wouldn't have minded the cold so much except for the fact that she didn't have Chakra anymore and her alarmingly unhealthy state was beginning to get to her.

After sitting in the stone chamber for a long time watching the fire slowly die away, her eyes caught on to something that she hadn't seen before. An inscription on the central pillar behind the pulpit began to glow mysteriously. How'd I miss that before? she thought as she roused herself to get up. Her knees almost gave out underneath her, but she kept her balance. Slowly, she approached the front of the sanctuary and went up the stone stairs towards the pillar. Once she was close enough to make out the details of the inscriptions, something familiar struck her. Although she couldn't read what it said, she had definitely seen them somewhere before…a long time ago. She reached out a shaky hand and touched the stone pillar. The words glowed brighter causing her to take her hand back. The words went back to how they were before. "Interesting," she said to herself.

She walked around the pillar. It was quite large and took 20 steps to walk around the perimeter. "Hm," she said quietly. Then she went over to the main pulpit and picked up one of the candlesticks. She came back to the pillar, and with a sudden burst of strength, she slammed the silver candlestick against the stone pillar making a huge crack. The sound of the hit echoed throughout the hall and the pillar. Of course, she thought as she let the candlestick drop to the floor with a loud clang. She went back to where she could see the entire inscription. It shimmered mysteriously against the dull gray background.

She narrowed her eyes and tried to remember where she had seen them before, but nothing came to her. She sighed and looked over the glowing carvings once more. As her eyes reached the last symbol, something inside of her compelled her to reach out and touch the inscriptions again. Taking a deep breath, she reached out her hand again and touched the symbols with her fingers. The words slowly became brighter and brighter. Soon, the eerie light from the inscriptions filled the entire sanctuary. She shielded her eyes with her arm but kept her hand on the words. Then suddenly, she couldn't feel the stone pillar against her fingers anymore. She leaned forward expecting her hand to come into contact with a stone wall. Nothing. She couldn't see where she was reaching since the light was still shining so brightly.

She looked back and saw that her fire had burned itself out. Smoke rose in the air cutting through the blinding light cast by the inscription. By looking at the smoke patterns in the light, she felt something inside of her push her towards the pillar. She looked back toward the light and swallowed hard. "Fine," she finally said and then took a bold step into the light.

It was nighttime and the trio was still in the midst of the never-ending forest. Or at least that's what it seemed like to Naruto. "Are we even close to getting out of here?" he complained to Jiraiya as they set up camp.

The Sannin grunted as he finally lit the wood that they had gathered earlier. "I believe we should be able to make it to the edge of the woods by tomorrow afternoon," he said.

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

"That is if we can get up early enough."

"What time?" Hinata asked.

"I'd say around five in the morning," Jiraiya answered. "That's why we need to get our rest now. We'll take turns for watch. I'll start."

"Fine," Naruto said. "I'll go next."

Jiraiya began cooking some food that they had brought along with them. "If everything goes according to plan tomorrow, there will still be sunlight left for us to search for the entrance to the mountain pass."

The three began their simple dinner in silence.

She stumbled forward and, not expecting a steep step, toppled to the stone floor. "Ow…" She pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked around while rubbing the arm she had fallen on. It was almost pitch black. She looked behind her and instead of seeing the sanctuary, there was a wall. "What?" She reached out her hand to touch it. Solid. She gasped and quickly stood up. "No! No!" she yelled out as she tried to push against the wall. It was no use. She pounded her fist into it and only caused herself to bleed. "AHHH!" she shouted. Her voice echoed loudly bouncing off the walls. Then with a final futile punch to the wall, she turned back around. Her eyes were somewhat adjusting now. She could make out that there was a faint glow just a few steps in front of her, but it was off a ledge. She walked over and looked down. The light source was perhaps a hundred or so feet below, and lining the walls was a turning staircase. She sighed. I guess there's nowhere else to go now, she thought with a glance back at the wall she had somehow come through. She walked over to where the steps began. It was going to be a long trip down.

After what seemed like hours of stepping down, the light became brighter. She had reached the bottom, finally. There was a small but bright light just above a heavy metal door. There was a seal sticking the handle to the rest of the door. Obviously, this place was meant to be closed at all times…but it was too late to go back up now. She was too tired to climb all those stairs and she couldn't just spend the rest of the night on the cold, dirty floor in a cramped space. Her curiosity was killing her. Somehow, everything that she had seen so far this night was eerily familiar. Had she been here before?

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she slowly pealed off the seal. The handle swung loose now and the door was ready to be opened. She grabbed the metal ring and the light above her head glowed more brightly, but she didn't think much of it. She pulled. The door wouldn't budge. "Great," she muttered under her breath. She tried again and still the enormous metal slab refused to move. She clenched her teeth. The thought of spending the night down here was really uninviting. She put her other hand on the handle and readied herself. She breathed out. "Ok," she said. She made sure her feet were securely on the ground and then she mustered up all of her strength and pulled.

At first nothing happened but soon the door began to give. The metal scraped slowly across the stone ground as the hinges creaked loudly sending chills down her spine, but the door was finally opening. After moving it open a few inches or so, she stopped to rest. She was panting like a dog, and sweat had already formed on her forehead. This must not have been used in a long time, she thought. After catching her breath, she pulled again. This time it was a bit easier, and she was able to get the rest of the door open.

"Finally!" she gasped as she sucked in the musty air. Darkness now stood where the door once was. Not even the light above the door penetrated it. "Hm…" Nevertheless, she took a step into the darkness. Then suddenly, the light that had been hovering above the door floated down and went right by her head and into the room. It was much brighter now and she was able to see that she was standing in a room full of ancient scrolls. The light floated to the opposite wall from where the door was and then split into two smaller lights. Then each light settled into one of two odd-looking candlesticks that looked like they were made of wires. Then suddenly, they went out.

She gasped as she was once again engulfed in the oppressive darkness…darkness that she had felt before. Then it hit her. That night when she was in the hospital after the second part of the Chuunin exam, she had had a dream that she was standing in a sea of darkness exactly like this. She had seen a light exactly like the light that just went out. She looked around again, squinting her eyes in hopes of looking through the darkness. Nothing.

She mustered up her courage and strength and took a few more steps into the abyss. Still the lights did not return. Then, as if led by some supernatural force, she walked right up to where the lights had gone and stopped in front of the table the two wire candlesticks were on. She reached out her hands and touched them. A bluish energy rushed from her fingers into the wires. The energy began to spread throughout the candlestick through the wires. Now everything was coming back to her. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew exactly what to do.

The lights lit up the entire room now with a soft bluish color. Directly in front of her was a box made of iron with seals inscribed into the metal. A huge lock was fastened on the handle. But none of this seemed to matter to her. She picked up the extremely heavy box almost as if it were nothing and placed it on the table. Then she grasped the lock in her hands. A surge of power flowed from her fingers into the metal and filled the inscriptions on the box. Soon the whole box was glowing the same blue color as the wire candlesticks were, and the lock unlocked itself and fell to the stone table with a clink. She opened the lid. Inside was a sealed scroll.

She took it out and placed it in front of the box. Once again, she felt a surge of power flow through her fingers. That same blue light filled the seal until it was dangerously bright. The light seemed to be pushing its way out of the seal. After a few seconds, the seal gave way to the power of the light and burst into shreds. The pieces floated harmlessly to the floor. Now the scroll could be opened.

As she unrolled it, dust-like particles rose from the paper and escaped into the air zooming off in all directions. But she didn't notice or care. Something inside of her drove her to read what had been written in that scroll. She quickly unrolled more of the ancient script feeling more powerful with every movement she made. The candles glowed more brightly and she could see what was written inside. It was in a different language, but somehow she knew what each symbol meant.

A long time ago, there existed the most beautiful angel imaginable. This angel was loved and admired by all those who had the chance to see her and she was a legend for those unworthy of her presence. Humans on earth had only heard stories of the great ninjas who possessed the power almost equivalent to the supernatural and were be able to withhold her beauty and glory. On a fateful day in the winter time, this angel of beauty and grace fell from heaven for an unworthy soul from the Uchiha clan was able to withhold her impassable beauty and fell in love with her. Through this unworthy meeting, she fell from her place in heaven and became the demon of hate cursing the Uchiha clan to a terrible fate of one day ceasing to exist. But she was not satisfied yet. She declared a war on all humankind. She began to destroy the great nations of the human world and all the powers of the ninjas combined could not stop her. Millions died and the great forests of the world burned with the fires of hell. This time was known as the darkest era for mankind.

After 100 years of chaos and destruction, the great leader of the spirits of nature, the nine-tailed fox spirit, allied himself with the greatest of the Kages from the different countries to have one last stand against the beautiful but terrible Angel of death. With their combined powers, the fox spirit was able to lock the demon away for what seemed like an eternity. The world could once again be at peace…

She stopped. Although she had merely read a shortened summary, which was customary in their traditions to insert at the beginning of any ancient text, she felt an overwhelming warmth flow inside of her even though the room was still freezing cold. She lifted her hands up so that she could look at them. Strange symbols began to appear on her palms from a central point and they were spreading slowly across the rest of her hands and eventually her arms. "I've never felt more…" She smiled wickedly. "Alive."

She suddenly turned around to face the door. She knew that someone else was coming down the forbidden staircase and she knew who it was.

A cloaked man stood in the doorframe to the ancient scroll room. The faint blue light cast shadows over his face.

She looked at the man still with that evil smile on her face. Her eyes began to shimmer slightly.

"They call you Sora," the man said in a low voice as he began to walk forward into the light.

"They did," she answered, her eyes never leaving him.

He stopped just inches in front of her. He put his hand up to her chin and lifted her head towards his. "But that is not who you really are."

She leaned forward and put her head past his. "Mitsukai," she whispered into his ear. The name held power as the whisper spread through the air. The very room seemed to quiver. She lifted her hands up to unclasp the man's robe. It fell to the floor.

"Mitsukai," he whispered back and surrounded her body with his arms. He pulled her head back a little so that they could see face to face.

"Itachi," she said with a suggestive smile. "You found me."

Uchiha Itachi said nothing but swiftly pulled her into a furious kiss.

The ceremony had begun.

As their passion grew within them, the candles burned all the more brightly. The ancient text lying on the table began to glow as it unrolled itself. Soon it fell to the floor revealing more of the forbidden curses it held. As each of the words opened up to the air, light came shooting out of it and more glowing particles flew up from the scroll.

Itachi threw Mitsukai down onto the table that held the scroll on top of it and quickly joined her. He began to strip her of her clothing and threw them to the side. There was no stopping him now. He felt her unclasp his armor that he had on and they slipped off of his body and fell to the floor with a dull clang. Then he quickly rid himself of his own clothing and immediately went back to making love to Mitsukai. The glowing particles gathered around them in the air engulfing them in a shining dome of light. Both were gasping out in pleasure as Itachi began to move within Mitsukai.

Soon, the entire scroll had unrolled itself and the long line of light filled the entire room. The other ancient scrolls that had been stored there began to decay to dust and they swirled up in the air. The light was blinding, but Mitsukai and Itachi couldn't see it, as they were too much involved in each other to notice anything else. Soon, Mitsukai's gasps and screams of pleasure echoed throughout the room.

The markings on Mitsukai's hands spread more quickly across her arms and eventually down her body. Her hair began to change from its brilliant red to a shimmering silver and her eyes became clear of color. Power flowed from Itachi to Mitsukai and she felt the seal from the Third Hokage break within her. Her blue Chakra flowed like a poison throughout her entire body, coursing through her Chakra and blood veins. The markings that had now covered her entire body began to sink through her skin into her Chakra structure making her blue energy white. The Angel had returned.