Disclaimer: Naruto is the property and creation of Kishimoto Masashi. I own none of the characters or the places mentioned in this story.

Acknowledgements and Thank you's:

This time I would like to thank and acknowledge everyone as a whole. Thank you. This is by far the hardest story for me to follow through with. I know anyone who has so far enjoyed this story and have been waiting for a new chapter installment have been amazingly patient with its update. So thank you for baring through that with me. My creative energies I feel have transferred to my daughter, who of course being three would have more imagination than myself. Proof-reading (I hope I've done it justice, I know there are complaints here and there about my overall grammar) took me a couple of months, mostly due to the sheer laziness and procrastinating on my part. Thank you for being apart of my life in the manner of reviewing, even just reading the whole story itself. You do not know the personal struggle I have had with this story, the tug-of-war to which would it be hopeless surrender or wholehearted commitment. I hope this story still has some magic and is found enjoyable and that I as an author have not dwindling my talents. I fear I'm not as popular as when I started and am now just a name in the history of fan-fiction. Good reading everyone and hopefully you will be happy with the chapter enough to leave a review (positive ones abundantly so more than negative.)

"Let the wars begin, let my strength wear thin.
Let my fingers crack, let my world fall apart."

With the sun beaming on her face, she woke slowly, disoriented, drifting for several minutes between waking and sleeping, muscles aching, her mind struggling to bring clarity to the sensations her senses were accumulating. The smell of floral scents, the sound of departing morning birds outside the window, the feel of cool cotton sheets on her skin. Memories slowly resurfaced. She remembered some muffled movements in the grey light of the very early morning. She remembered him already being on his feet and dressed. She remembered looking at him with bleary-eyed confusion as he lifted her up in his stalwart arms, wrapped in his robes. He returned her to the lush prison she inhabited for many months since she first arrived to his homeland. He placed her on the bed that had been hers since she arrived and had leaned down, swept back her hair and told her to go sleep some more. Evidently, she had been too drowsy to question the situation further and had done as he told her. She had thought it was a dream anyway. As her level of consciousness increased, she realized two things: She failed to assassinate the Otokage and shared with him instead an all too intimate moment meant for Neji and her upon their marriage bed.

She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling distraught. A few minutes into her turmoil, there was a knock on the door; followed by a familiar voice, one of greeting. Not waiting for Sakura to answer, Ino, making a routine visit, opened the door with a breakfast platter in her hands. The rich aromas of fresh bread, tomatoes, eggs, olives and tea wafted in the air, enticing her empty stomach. Ino smiled as she set the tray down and poured the green tea into the porcelain cups. Sakura held the heated cup handed to her between her palms to warm them against the chill and inhaled the fragrant scent before she took a leisure sip. "The Otokage was in such a good mood today, he bade the chef make this delightful breakfast. It smells so wonderful; I was tempted to sample it as I brought it up." She said inhaling a deep breath of the aroma of sizzling breakfast meats. "Well," Ino laughed, picking up the silver-gilt and pearl ornamented comb and started raking through Sakura's tousled hair in quick motion, she fashioned a braid and decorated it with buds of preserved, dried yuki-yanagi, "through actions alone. It's been a long time since he ever laughed, let alone smiled." Ino walked over to Sakura's wardrobe and elected through each of the hanging dresses, which would suit Sakura for the day. She chose a beautiful water-blue silken gown that faded from blues right into a stunning cream color on the leading. The gown hailed stunning gold accents and lace sleeves. "This one is lovely," She stated pushing the dress into Sakura's arms. "I'll have to go now and try some of this delicious food; I have other errands to attend as well. Enjoy your breakfast."

Alone again in the room, Sakura stood in front of the mirror and pulled away the robe she donned. It was then she noticed the little bruises on her throat, on her shoulders and the top of her breasts. She pressed her fingers to them, tracing them lightly. Her head throbbed in protest of memories of erotic nature. She thought of his hands, his lips, and his naked, robust body. She closed her eyes tightly as she mentally pushed back the events of last night from her thoughts. She did not want to remember. She quickly dressed to hide the marks. She turned toward the windows and watched the snow falling, spinning in the light breeze against the grey sky. She moved toward the window until she could press her fingers against the glass, she turned her cheek to the glass and it felt cold beneath her flesh as she gazed out the window. She squinted through the thick snow swirling in the air. As Sakura peered through the drift she saw that the snow blanketed the grounds of the garden, icicles dangled from the walls of the castle, the wind ripped through the branches of the trees. She became aware of the two figures below. She felt an anxious prickle of nerves. She could barely see through the cloud of flurries to determine who would be foolish enough to venture out in such cold conditions. She could see dark red tresses in the wind currents and deep black. She stepped back, but felt compelled to continue to watch Karin pursue the Otokage.

She was running after him, her hands reaching out to seize him. His stride wavered as she surged against him, her arms encircling his waist and resting her head against his black cape. An uncomfortable feeling welled in Sakura's stomach up to her chest. She sneered in disgust and spun away from the window. Her cheeks were hot now; she rubbed at her hot cheeks as she walked over to the bedroom door, jerking it opened with force. Sakura sucked in a lungful of air in surprise, loudly; before her stood Sai, sooner than she expected, with an impassive expression. He was clad in black, his wan complexion a stark contrast to all the black. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves. He pushed past her and went to the window at which she stood a moment ago. "Alive, isn't that strange and you as well… I'm perplexed." He said staring down at the gardens. Sakura turned her gaze to the floor, silent. What was she to say? That she had fell into the Otokage's dark eyes and intoxicating kiss. "So since you're alive… did you betray me?" Their eyes met and Sakura shook her head immediately. He walked closer to her as if to invoke misgivings.

His hand reached out, he caressed her cheek, a deep smile curving his mouth, and his eyes closed; a boyish smile indeed. Sakura simply looked at him as he drew his hand back and let it hang by his side once more. "You look as you were about to enjoy your early meal." He said to her, reaching out and taking the plate. "Come sit." Sakura sat on the edge of the bed as Sai pulled a chair close and sat. He poured himself some tea in a cup and took a sip. He waited and when she reached for no food he gesture for her to eat. Sakura, with shaky hands, reached for an olive. She ate slowly. He watched her eating, smiling at her. When at last she finished the meal, he rose from the seat and bowed in a courteous manner to her. He said nothing, which worried her.

"What… will you do?" He walked away from her, back to the chamber doors. She lifted her chin so that she could fully see his departing figure. There was no smile on his face, he simply looked her way and she waited for a response, perhaps one of anger. She did not know what to think, she had yet to grasp a deep grip on his personality or any of the personalities she had encountered while she was a captive in the heart of Otogakure. He merely looked over his shoulder at her, and then he faced her, opening the door behind her. His next words would not be what she expected at all.

"Would you like to accompany me on a stroll?" He reached out and offered her his black-gloved hand. Feeling as though his inquiry was anything other than optional, she stood slowly and followed Sai and together they left the room. She looked down at his hand, swaying back and forth, as they walked together. The longer they trailed the vast silent and dimly lit halls, the more daunted she felt. Down the stairs of the second corridor, Sakura saw Ino up the way, conversing with one of the guards; garbed in a black cloak similar to the one Sai wore. There was a smile on Ino's face. One that Sakura did not think she would see; a sort of flirtatious smile. Sakura walked closer with Sai toward the two. Ino looked up and her smile diminished as though to reappear on Sai's lips. "Good morning Ino-san." He said. His voice was light. A gaiety that suited him well- seriousness did not suit the face that was born for smiles. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did actually," She said, stepping away from the guard. "Once I got to sleep, that is." There was almost a snide tease to her voice. Sakura suddenly felt uneasy, glancing nervously behind herself. Then Ino looked over at her as if noticing her for the first time. Ino cleared her throat and announced she still has things to look after. She gave a quick single nod to Sakura, plucked up her skirt so her hem lifted off the floor and she sauntered passed them. Sai smirked before he gave a dark look to the guard whose throat visible descended in a gulp. Sai continued and Sakura followed on his heel, wringing her hands and fiddling with her skirts as they continued down the hall. Sai's thoughts were elsewhere since their encounter with Ino moments ago, and it was evident in his following conversation.

"She's very fond of any compliments, and very much addicted to coquetry. If one might hesitate about flattering her, she has a mind of helping you to do it." Sakura furrowed her brows, not sure what to think. She never thought much on Ino, only that she seemed her only companion within Otogakure, what Ino did or said beyond Sakura's presence was for Ino to dictate alone. They reached the passage to the gardens where Sakura had spent much of her imprisonment and found that she lingered at the archway out to her solitude. Sai continued down the corridor, unaware or indifferent that she ceased to follow. As if in a weightless daze, she found herself walking closer and closer to the stony entrance. A few solid cascades of ice hung down, high overhead, apparently broken off short, or at any rate ending very abruptly. She felt a pang of discontent as no one was out in the frozen garden. Whom she was expecting? What did her heart or mind think she might find out in the frozen garden? Her past was merely a dream now, an illusion to protect herself from the cruelty of her reality. She shook her head, feeling a lack of humility within. She pressed her hand against the cold stone of the wall and started to turn back inside to what warmth the palace could supply and perhaps unite with Sai once again.

Sakura kept her eyes on her feet, not really seeing the floor. When a shadow fell across her path, she looked up. A man, tall and undesirably familiar underneath his long black robe, stood in her path. His strange eyes raked her up and down. It was unnerving. She felt a clutch of fear and swallowed thickly, she tried to retreat, but he stepped forward and grabbed her arm. He started to push her further into the frigid tunnel. "Let go!" Sakura started to scream, but he clamped his hand over her mouth, crushing his lips against her mouth, his fingers digging into her face. Sakura's heart pounded painfully against her chest painfully against her chest. His hot breath huffed against her cheek, she tried to turn her head, but his grip was too strong. She could kick and claw him, but he was too strong. He would simply overpower her. He could drag her down further into the archway where no would be able to see or hear her struggling, but then who here would care what happened to her?

His hand continued to crush her face. Blood coated her tongue from her teeth cutting the inside of her mouth. Desperation and a compulsion to fight back swelled inside her. She breathed through her nose in order to stay conscious while she calculated how she could hurt him the most. "Little princess, little princess," He hissed in her ear, releasing her mouth. His voice was a dark seductive, cruel, malignant sound, soft like a secret, sultry and husky with intent. She did not like hearing it. "So at last we are alone, how many times have we trekked paths that never intersected?" The long strands of his snowy hair feel over her lashes. She did not want him looking at her; she did not want him touching her. She started to feel dizzy as she struggled to breathe. The corners of his mouth curled back in a sneer. His deep violet eyes closed as a heavy, sighing breath escaped him. His hand cupped the back of her neck and he grabbed and twisted a handful of her hair, he yanked until her neck stretched back. "I want skin. I want your skin, since that time in the woods; it seems so long ago that you walked so brazenly into a camp of men demanding us to take you to the Otokage… I should have taken you then; such a beautiful, little, princess!"

Tears burned the corners of her eyes. Her mind raced with profane thoughts of what he would do to her. A sound of boots on the corridor floor snapped Sakura's eyes wide. Someone was coming, someone would see them, this. A man walked into her line of sight, his head turned in their direction, it was too dark to see the look on his face, but instead of asking any questions, he hurried along, as briskly as he could, sorry to be imposing on two supposed lovers amidst a tryst. Sakura threw her head back and cried out in desolation. His sinister grin grew, and he turned her, pulling her against his chest, still holding her by her face and hair. "He won't mind, this once, if I take his little fire bird from her iron cage." His fingers tugged on the laces holding the back of her dress together. Acting on instinct and opportunity Sakura twisted her body as violently as she could; she slammed her elbow hard into his chest. His grip loosened. Sakura wrenched forward, freeing herself. She grabbed her skirt and ran out of the archway. Her heart beat so fast it hurt, but she did not slow her pace. She tried to listen for footsteps following, but she could only hear the pounding of blood in her ear, keeping time with her feet on the ground beneath.

Sakura ran until she passed through the long, dimly lit hall. She rushed into the kitchens, slamming the heavy doors behind her. Gasping for breath, she crumpled, trembling, onto a spot on a long bench pulled close to the long wooden dining table. Humiliation mixed with anger coursed through her, the way he touched her made her shudder with disgust, wrapping her arms around herself, she sucked in air like one who just survived choking. She felt as if she were trying to shield herself from a thousand hidden, but disparaging, eyes. Realizing she was not alone, Sakura looked up and found sitting two rows behind her Karin and Juugo. Karin's red eyes glowered over her. She gave a disgusted snort as she pushed away from the table. "I've lost my appetite," Karin said gloomily, turning her spoon in her bowl. She abandoned her meal, stomping past Sakura, leaving the kitchen. Juugo, a giant of a man with bright orange hair followed suit. Sakura rubbed at her eyes feeling the shadows of hell upon her. Sakura hugged her arms and looked at the fogged white windows. There were a few servants, tidying around, and the large, rather unfriendly head cook bustling about the hot room, casting dark looks at her. There was a devil residing in this foreign palace.

Her love was lost to her. She hated him and why should not she? He was not here. He was not breaking down doors or cutting down enemy soldiers to reach her. Where was he? She never felt so angry, so abandoned, so betrayed! Of all the terrible things to submit her to how could she feel anything but hate? There was so much tense anger in her that it made her skin flush with the thought. "Here you are!" she jumped, startled. A relief washed over her, it was Sai again. "Care to explain?" Sakura shook her head, the anger curling her lip in disgust. He dare ask her to explain herself, to this cowardly assassin.

"No!" she barked, slamming her fists down thunderously against the table. "Do you want to kill me? Go ahead!" she challenged. No one was coming for her; she gave on the tiny bit of hope months ago! Not in a hundred of yards of this pitiful cold and desolate village would a single Konohagakure resident find and return her home. "I would rather die and be thrown into a frozen river than go another season here. I am not a killer. I am a simple woman. I am a lowly man's daughter who happened to catch the attention of the battle commander. It was love that brought me to his rescue. I trekked my way through dangerous lands and into enemy hands, demand they bring me to the Otokage so I might beg for his return and he does not return the favor. So kill me if you wish. Who will care? Not them, not I!" She was so angry she did not know what else to do. Tears welled in her eyes, and she cried until her already sore throat felt like it was on fire.

"Are you finished? I presume there is a reason the Otokage is still alive, however, if you wish for it to remain private so be it. Now you have wandered away. Take this; I wanted to speak with you in a more reserved setting." He handed her a long, warm appearing cloak. Sakura took it and wrapped herself in it. She followed Sai with no questions, no words. She was still flushed with anger, so she stayed quiet as he led her out of the palace and into the wintry cold and beyond the gates. "You haven't exhausted your uses." Sai's feet crunched into the thickly bedded snow. Sakura looked onward. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders, she felt a little happiness return to her as they strolled outside the palace gates and within the village. There were villagers and merchants, children running around and playing and for the first time in a long while, she felt that she was home again, though these were strangers and they had no connection to her current situation. She smelled the scents of fire burning, bread baking and the cold fresh air.

"I don't care about my freedom anymore." Sakura said nonchalantly, as she took in Sai's words she walked over to a small stall full of little trinkets, she had no currency for. She smiled at the simplicity of the vendor's wares. "I don't know what the Otokage is holding onto me for any longer. I am of no use to him. I have no special skills and I have no power over the war or its outcome. I wish he would just return me to Konohagakure or kill me to be done with it." She watched as the villagers observed her, light whispers on their tongues about the captive Konohagakure 'princess'

"Why do you think my cousin would want you dead? I think he is infatuated with you. I can only guess what happened that night. Perhaps you're more enchanting than you think." Sakura felt a wash of embarrassment settle over her, making her cheeks a soft pink. She continued walking through the snowy village. She did not want to talk to Sai about that night, but he did not seem to make a commotion about it or even continue to push the fact that he could still use her as an assassin. They walked a while longer; Sakura took the time to enjoy the outdoors despite the cold. She looked out at the horizon; she could make out some snowdrift, but nothing more than white abyss. No one would be out there, no hero on the horizon. What more was there, but the desire to escape or the desire to let her life snuff out like a candle flame? The sun began to descend when Sai escorted her back to the palace, but in the less freezing corridors, they parted ways, no more words between them. She stood by the kitchen doors, watched as the fires burned out and the servants and cooks depart. Sakura wandered the dimly lit corridors, hoping for no further future encounters. Through the vast halls, she wandered, all in darkness, except where the moon, shining in through the embrasures, threw a bright streak across the floor. How time had fooled her with the winter, one moment it was morning the next it was night. She felt that she was living in fragments of time.

"The sleep is evident in your eyes." Sakura lifted her tired eyes up to the top of the stairs. The Otokage stood before her in dark silken robes; she felt a blush of heat across her face. She trudged herself up the stairs regardless of the emotions she was feeling, mostly embarrassment. She walked past him and he did not stop her. "For you… I suppose you'll want to read these," Sakura stopped and turned, still ashamed to look the Otokage in the eye. There in his hands he held out a fan of parchments sealed with the wax stamp of the Hyuuga emblem. Sakura stared at them, heard her heart beat, and wished for some way to stifle it, but that she could not do. Her fingers flexed. The urge to snatch the letters and read them tugged at her heart and she swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. She waged a small war between her head and heart on whether or not she would take the letters from his hands, pry them open, tear the emblem apart and read the words written on the parchment. She started for the letters but she found that she did not want them. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she drew them in, close to her palm, forming a tight fist. He was presenting letters from Neji. How old were these letters? How long had the Otokage retained them in his possession? She did not know and fighting the rage inside her, keeping it at bay, she found that she did not want to know. They would only possibly recount his love for her. How he would be coming for her soon. What difference would present themselves in his and her idea of soon be? Would soon be days, months… years?

She hated to think on it, she did not want to read his lies in letters. She was here for a couple of seasons now and she was mad in the mind with the fact. A monster lurking in the shadows the palace provided, making her fear because she allowed him to frighten her, haunt her. He tried to possess her, not because of lust or desire, want or need, only because she did not want him to. She was not the fair maiden swooning maidens read about in fantasy tales. This was his strength. From her fear, he was powerful and, she could not escape. Sakura shivered slightly with the thought of the earlier assault. Then there was the Otokage himself. Her captor, a promise she made to him kept her in his realm, in his palace. Sakura exchanged her life for the freedom of her betrothed. Sakura's freedom surrendered to ensure the freedom of Neji. She looked into the Otokage's dark fathomless eyes set against his handsome face. Her gaze rested on his mouth, her cheeks began to burn. She remembered his kiss. It was a hot, ravishing, an entirely thorough kiss even as she told herself to fight the memory she couldn't understand the profound difficultly not to.

"No!" Her voice was firm. "Throw them away, burn them, tear them asunder, I care not. I do not want them." She tried to give up all remembrance of her old life, her old love, casting it and him out of her mind as if it had never existed. No matter if: it was gone, with no means of retrieval, it had existed, and it was a part of her. She felt defiant to the memory, not wanting to think of those who left her behind. She hiked her skirt up from the floor and resumed her climb up the stairs, more urgently now, passing the Otokage with an abrupt sendoff. She flit along the corridor, climbed the scores of stairs that led its path to her room, her prison that for her was to sit, sleep, and eat mostly unnoticed, forgotten and overlooked. When Sakura at last reached her room, she shoved the door shut behind her. She was terribly upset. Neji had wrote her letters, not only one that allowed her to assumed meant he just started writing, but several, which led her to believe that he had been writing to her for awhile since. What irked her most was that when she was not expecting to, she gazed at the Otokage's thin, sinuous lips. Her cheeks were flaming now with the memory of his mouth on her breasts, the feel of his heavy length moving inside her.

She remembered the incredible sweep of pleasure, the heart-pounding ecstasy she had felt in those final, blissful moments, despite the actuality of him being her first. She remembered how he strode toward her, dark, tall, and in that moment, a little intimidating. Little details such as those kept appearing in her head and every time they did, her body went warm with desire. It was curious how he bedded her rather than killed her when he confronted her on her attempt at his life. Any other surely would have dispatched her permanently rather than allow her to live, especially moving almost freely about their palace. The Otokage was certainly a different man, a fool, certainly. Sakura suddenly felt very tired, she walked over to the window seat and eased herself down. The moon shone bright in the midst of the gray clouds. The wind outside rattled the frosted paned windows. She closed her eyes, her heart squeezed with the pain of missing her family, her freedom. She was tired, emotionally and physically.

She did not know why the threads of life were as tangled, as they were. She did not know where they were weaving her to, where the heart of her thread rested among the knots and what waited at its start. All she knew was that her thread was integrate, crossed paths with lives she could never know would touch her own. Sakura soon drifted into a dreamless sleep at her window seat, among the glass that kept out the snow and cold and the glittering stars, the glass that kept out her freedom.

When Sakura left him standing there, Sasuke pondered her thoughts and the way she seemed, hurt and upset, and for some reason that he could not fully grasp, he wanted to avenge her. His gaze turned dark and clutching tightly at the letters she disregarded, he headed toward his chambers to redress; he no longer wished to sleep that night. He disrobed and pulled on a black tunic and matching trousers. He pulled on his boots and tossed the letters into the fireplace. He would burn them later. He was tired of the war; he was tired of Konohagakure and their self-righteous ways. He sneered as he finished dressing, pulled open his door and slammed it behind. There was more of a glide to his strides as he made his way down the corridors lit by both the moon and the torches. He needed to do something! He felt an urgency to do something to Konohagakure and its appointed Battle Commander. Sasuke advanced down the hall like a storm billowing out of a coal black sky down to the war room, summoning Karin, Juugo, Suigetsu, Orochimaru, and a few key generals that had no verbal attribute but would carry out his commands all the same.

Two armored soldiers guarded the double doors of the Otokage's war room. The room was dark, lit only by blazing torches. Several maps of the Five Great Kingdoms hung spread about the walls. Black marble walls and dark polished wood furniture, gleamed fitfully in the torchlight: a big table with benches on each side of it and a huge chair, like a throne, carved with fighting scenes at its head. The only ornament on the wall behind the great chair was a portrait of a well-dressed family, his family. "We're riding to Konohagakure… tonight," he snarled, throwing the war pieces from the wooden circler war table. Karin looked worried. Suigetsu looked pleased. Juugo remained silent.

Orochimaru smiled himself and interjected a few crucial points as Sasuke's War Master. "These are pleasing words. Konohagakure cannot hope to win. We are the people of Otogakure. The Uchiha Clan, as is in their nature, is to be stronger, than all others are. The enemy will not prevail upon us. Let us divide our forces to meet the enemy-"

"No. Round up the whole army. I am ending this now. I will see Konohagakure burn once, and for all. We have come to a time when we have toyed too long with the prey and we the predator must end all games. Otogakure has always meant to conquer; we are the people meant to rule. Let us meet our enemy with a full force!" He turned them all out of the war room, knowing that different thoughts invoked each of them. He did not care what they thought of him. Sasuke had not cared for a long time, now. There was an old anger, a wound within that anger. When dealing with old rage and present anger, there were two simple decisions that would allow release. Either he could accept the situation, let it go or he could do something about it. He pulled off the maps from the wall and frowned up at the portrait, he wanted nothing more than to tear it off the wall as well and throw the portrait to the ground, break the frame that held it.

"What thoughts haunt your mind, Otokage-sama?" Sasuke did not turn to the owner of the voice. He stared up at the picture, his features hard with past hurt and present fury. "Your brother, Itachi-sama," Suigestsu murmured, now standing at Sasuke's side. Sasuke detested the name; it burned his ears to hear. The name of Itachi Uchiha was a hated and cursed one. Sasuke had pondered for years how to best avenge the death of his parents at his brother's hands. No one way would ever quench his burning hatred and he had thought of hundreds. Sasuke wanted to look into his eyes and watch as the light of life slowly snuffed out of them. He wanted to hear the sweet music of his screams of pain, and feel him squirm in pain under his hands as his flesh peeled and tore from his frame. He did not want him to die quickly, no, what he had in mind would take weeks into months to accomplish. At the end, he would be begging for an end to his traitorous life, but his pleas would fall to deaf ears.

He dreamed of a day he would meet his vengeance, how love had turned to hate. Sasuke looked over at Suigetsu. "Get ready to ride out. I want everybody mounted up and ready to ride by first light." Suigetsu was grinning, exposing pointed white teeth. With a flourishing bow, he departed precipitately. Alone again with his dark thoughts and dark feelings, Sasuke curled the fingers of each hand into a tight fist, growled and took his leave of the war room as well. He headed up to his chamber where, once in his own room, Sasuke sank into a seat and buried his face into his hands. Sasuke tried to clear his mind of his hateful feelings, he was proud of the calm exterior he exuded. He stood again, with set teeth and determined eyes he went toward his closet where a dark garment hung. He shook it out- a long, dark, military cloak- and proceeded to pin the cape, he enveloped himself in the cloak, drawing the hood as well forward to cover nearly the whole of his face. He would go to war, not for the sake of war, but the sake of his own pride. He wandered down the long, dark passageway below the hall, pushed open a door, and found himself all at once in a familiar room, the moonlight reflecting off the snow outside, the moonlight shone full on her face and gave it that clear, unnatural fairness. She was beautiful. His eyes lingered, for a long moment, on Sakura, on her pale pink hair, deepened in color from the moonlight.

He bit back a sigh, as he stared into her face, his eyes trailing over every feature as though he were trying to memorize them, he knew well that he was here because he had to see her, up close, just once, before he walked away, he might not have the strength to walk away from such a vision. Her lips were parted and her breathing deep and even. The angry storm that had roiled around inside him ebbed, and he found himself wanting to drop down beside her and hold her until she woke up. However, he could not do that. Instead, he stood there, watching her sleep, an ache in his chest that would not go away. He reached out and touched a lock of her hair. Desire coiled through his veins, making him throb, he then lifted his hand to her cheek, moving his thumb along her jaw line. She moaned softly but continued sleeping; her sleep was not easily disturbed. He moved closer until his face was so close to hers, he could feel her every breath. Unable to resist the lure of that lush mouth, he dipped his head and kissed her. After a moment, he eased off, gazing down into her upturned face. Her eyelashes fluttered, but her eyes remained closed. Sasuke struggled to swallow a lump in his throat as he watched her sleep. Her pink lips appeared swollen from his kiss. Just the thought of her like that made his chest tighten; aware of his train of thought, he pressed his lips together.

He cursed softly, expelled a breath and without waking her, effortlessly lifted her from the chair, and carried her to the bed. Her body felt cold and soft against his. She felt weightless against his forearms. The hair on the top of her head touched his nose, and unconsciously Sasuke lowered his face, inhaling lightly. He could smell the scent of flowery bath oils. Gently, he laid her on the bed and pulled the covers up over her, and still she slept. Sasuke backed up to the door to leave. Hesitating he pulled it shut. He thought about the night she crept into his room, armed with a knife. He could not fathom his fascination with her. She was a unique woman, one of the most intriguing he had ever imagined to encountered. He thought that once he had claimed her, his fascination with her would end. That one kiss would cure his fever for her.

He shook his head, angry with himself for thinking so intently on a woman, a woman who was the wife of his enemy. He had brought her into his bed on the night she attempted to kill him. He remembered the press of the cold steel against his throat. Did her mettle allure him? He pulled the riding cloak around his shoulders tighter as he drew closer to the doors that would lead him to the courtyard where his men gathered at the stables ready to ride out to battle. Six royal guards waited on horseback in the courtyard, in a formation of two rows of three. Sasuke took the reins of his steed from the stableman, who stepped back as Sasuke mounted the horse and quickly urged his horse into a gallop. The Otokage's legion galloped after, plumes of steam coming from the noses of the mounts, their hooves kicking up clots of snow.

The palace was quiet now that the Otokage's forces had ridden out. The shouts, laughter, and sounds of heady excitement had slowly filtered away and no longer invaded the courtyard. Ino watched from the large window as the last of her Otokage's army left the palace grounds. Sasuke had led the departure; she whispered his name, feeling her heart clench at the thought of never seeing him again. She was relieved when he had pulled back his men for those long passing months and now he was riding out again to battle, to war. The night wind flattened Ino's blond hair against her cheeks and forehead, and even blew it into her eyes. She tossed her head to smooth her hair back into place and ran her hand through it. She heard the sound of boots patting against the stone below, the long shadow cast against the stone she leaned on. He stood very close to her now, his body heat radiating toward her. "A beautiful winter's night." he mused, staring up at the sky. He whistled a few notes, unfamiliar, and then stopped. "I picked up that tune somewhere." Ino turned to stare into the face of Sai. The resemblance to Sasuke was uncanny but that was the only thing they shared.

Ino frowned, studying Sai. "Out for a midnight stroll, my lord?" she asked rather ungraciously. He looked up at the night sky again and rocked back on his heels. The wind blew steadily in his face, the hair pushing away from his forehead.

"My, aren't we irritable tonight," Sai quipped, looking down into Ino's face at last, she made sure he did not miss a curve of disdain in her face. He brushed past her, merely raising his brow in response to her icy expression, and setting his hands against the snowcapped rampart. He peered into the night, the snow tossed about the earth by the frigid wind. He frowned and then looked back to see Ino, her face smooth out from the harsh curves of earlier. "Suppose you were out here to see your beloved Otokage ride out to battle once more. What do you see in my dear cousin anyhow? I don't get it." Ino seemed taken by surprise by Sai's sudden question. She had known him as long as she had known Sai, they were all children together, she had served the family of Uchiha since she was a young girl and until more recently, when Sai's family would visit during the summer. She blinked up at him and he looked back out where the army had departed, shaking his head. "Even without my opinion the guy is a self-righteous, imperious bastard."

Ino felt herself tense up. She narrowed her eyes, Sai complained about Sasuke often, even when they were young, only now it was less frequent than when he was just a boy. He kept his thoughts about Sasuke as minimal as possible unless otherwise provoked, mostly when Ino was about. "You still don't know him." Ino defended.

"And you do? I'm sure he takes you out to his mother's garden and entrusts you with his deepest secrets." He snorted. "I think I understand. You just think you are in love with him. He is this dark dominant figure with his black garb and mysterious past. A romantic illusion that you've convinced yourself is real." He shook his head again and once more turned his gaze to the heavens. "You think you're supposed to fall for the tortured guy who lives in the shadows. It's been twenty-two years now, Ino…"

"Sai, I don't want to talk about this."

"No, of course not, might shatter the illusion you've so carefully crafted over many years." Ino sighed; she was growing tired of Sai and his constant analyzing and complaining. She frowned out to where she had stared moments before his interruption. They stood in silence with their eyes downcast, the stone pale in the moonlight. She could sense nothing from him; he was holding his emotions under tight control as he had always done. Ino shivered a little, she had not intended to stay out this late, but stubbornness seemed to keep her out.

"Are you suggesting I consider some one like you?" Ino broke the silence, glancing sidelong over at Sai, wrinkling her nose. Sai scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief at the mere idea. Ino smiled thinly and tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

"Heavens, no- what an idea, you and I…? I am just a curious man. Besides don't you think Sasuke-san's guest and I are more compatible?" He jested; Ino gave him a derisive look that said more clearly than words what she thought about his statement.

She pushed away from the parapet in disgust. "Is that every man's idea around here? She is beautiful, that much is undeniable but it is not like she's the only woman in Otogakure." Crossing her arms, she chafed her hands up and down her arms, hoping to chase away a bit of the chill. Ino could not understand what was so wonderful about Sakura other than that she was a stranger in a land full of her enemies and she was pretty. What else was there, they knew nothing other than she was a Konohagakure local who had travel to Otogakure for the freedom of a prisoner. Ino tried to think of what the men here saw when they looked at her, aside from her natural beauty, but it only gave her a slight ache in her temple when she tried to comprehend their thoughts.

Sai offered his thoughts, comparing Sakura to a flower blooming out of its element and perhaps that was what the men glimpsed when they encountered the prisoner from another land. Ino shook her head, though the presented idea seemed plausible. "I think she's perfect, but not how you might interpret. I've noticed qualities in her in the little cherry blossom…"

"Such as…?"

"Of no interest to you, I can assure you, but I have noticed them and that's all you need to hear."

Ino narrowed her eyes, "Fine, don't tell me then. I don't care," she said dismissively. "I'm tired of talking about Sakura and I'm tired of hearing other people talk about her. Now I am listening to you talk about her. The Otokage tasked me with overseeing to her everyday routine. Day after day Karin is carping about her in some form or another. I catch Suigetsu leering in her direction even when he thinks no one is watching. I will never know where he dug those three up. They are unpleasant." she sighed and gave herself up the tumult of emotions sweeping through her. "I just wish Sasuke-sama would care for me the way I've cared for him. I have been part of the royal family since we were children."

He looked at her, his eyes dark, unsmiling. "Do you think perhaps he can not separate you from the child you were then from the woman you are now?" He pressed his lips together and then he smiled that boyish smile she was accustomed to seeing when he did not want to talk about matters he felt were too serious. "Such a serious focus, Ino, I would rather talk about the upcoming battle. He has put it off for far too long. Why now do you suppose, he would start up again?"

"You like to stir trouble, Sai-sama. What do you know?" Inquired Ino, her big, blue eyes wide with wonder. Sai was always jerking her about, making her think one way or the other, he must have enjoyed the reactions he pulled from her, she felt heated with the thought that he might be doing it now, with that smile. He shook his head and she wondered what he might be keeping from her, she felt numb in the cold. She wished he would just tell her what he knew so that she might go inside, before it started snowing, it was cold enough to snow, but there were not many cloud clusters in the dark sky.

"I wonder," he mused, slanting a knowing glance edged with amusement. "Would your face turn red? I wouldn't want you to cry." He touched her face, his fingers brushing against her cheek. Her eyes flashed a warning at him.

"Tell me!" She snapped impatiently.

"No. I rather not." his hand came away from her face and she blinked up at him in confusion. "You should go inside Ino, no need to stand out here freezing and troubling your mind over my cousin, it's night still and dawn is a many hours away." She watched his thin smile, boyish indeed, and it disguised any malice he could harness. "You should go rest now, you're always so busy. He's not worth your efforts." He turned away and headed back into the palace. Ino sighed, frustrated with him. She could not heed his advice, as tired as she was, not just because she could not trust it, but more so because she had loved Sasuke for too long to stop now. Even if she fell in love with another man, he would never possibly hold a candle to her Otokage. Even now, the very idea of any man redirecting her love away from Sasuke seemed impossible. Irked by Sai's mysterious remark; he always talked a riddle whenever his cousin was involved. She wondered what it was about her Otokage that he despised so passionately. She supposed he enjoyed teasing, even when he was younger, he played between nice and malevolent. It was a constant mask for him to hide his true face. Ino finally had enough of the cold and went inside.

She wandered the drafty halls of the palace to the blazing kitchen. There was an orange glow from the hearth, smoldering her eyes in its brightness. Set at its large kettle were two young maidservants. They were busy stirring and chattering. Ino caught their attention as she skirted closer. She took a seat at the wooden table, cut into and colorfully stained from years of food preparation. They offered her a bowl of the bubbling thick soup they were cooking, Ino took it and held the wooden bowl between her fingers and listened as they continued to talk amongst themselves. She strained to listen when she heard them mention their Otokage, at first she was outraged to hear his servants gossiping about their Otokage, but then she found she could not help but want to know what they were saying exactly, so she tightened her mouth and listened, pretending not to.

"Well I heard the Otokage was seen leaving her rooms." the girl whispered, stirring the soup about some more and not minding Ino's presence in the least.

"I heard more than that. I heard the night before, just before dawn he was spied carrying her asleep in his arms, from his chamber to hers." Their faces flushed, but it could have been from the fire cradling about the kettle at which they hovered over. One of them gave a heartfelt sigh. "He's such a handsome man, a divine specimen of masculinity. She's so lucky, I would give anything for a man like that." she gushed, one finger twirling a lock of her hair, employing not a single bit of exaggeration. Ino looked up and after one wild throb; her heart sank, like lead. Ino felt as if her whole world had been shattered. Her life had revolved around Sasuke, and now she felt as though there was nothing. Her mind was in turmoil. Ino sat stunned, unable to move, barely able to breath for the tighteness that constricted her throat. Ino blinked back the tears determined not to cry. "It's perfectly understandable; I mean men are fond of that exotic look- pretty nose, high cheekbones, golden skin, and petite and slender. Even her pink hair is pretty."

Ino swallowed. She did not want to believe it; she did not want to think that Sasuke desired Sakura. "Well, he should marry, perhaps a successful marriage would produce an heir and perhaps the Otokage would be happy again."

"You forget yourselves!" Ino interrupted in a firm, yet mild tone. "Speaking about our Otokage in such disregard, show some respect." Ino shook her head and stood from her seat, dismissing herself and wishing them a pleasant night. The tip of her nose grew numb and cold. A lump balled in her throat. Stopping outside the kitchen doors, Ino screwed her eyes tight against the tears that threatened to fall. She had always loved Sasuke ever since she was a little girl as she had told Sai. She felt a sharp pain, in the center of her chest, an excruciating tightness. Heaviness settled over her, and Ino knew she had to sit down. She leaned against the wall for support, wiping at her eyes with the heel of her hand, fighting back hot tears. How could this other woman, this new woman, this interloper, come along and fascinate him so easily? He should not have become involved with her. It would be easy for others to judge him. She knew it was difficult to make the right call in the heat of the moment, be that the heat of battle or the heat of passion. She was a passionate person, very much so. It was something that hurt her the most. She could give him so much, and had. How could he not choose her? Ino felt a sense of family affront when he had given his mother's private chambers to this woman as a prison.

Ino was distressed… shattered by the thought of being in love with a man who did not love her back. Ino covered her face in grief, crying softly. She sobbed all the way to her room. She collapsed on the bed in a heap of despair and confusion, and sobbed until she was sick. The suffering in her body and soul was unbearable. Her entire body ached and her heart, paralyzed with grief. She loved him, loved him since he was a boy and she a girl. She loved him. He was her heart's desire. He always had been. She loved him. She loved him. She had always loved him. Ino knew Sasuke did not feel the same way about her. She pretended that he just did not appreciate her love yet. The first time he broke her heart, she remembered was the first time he took Karin to his bed. The first searing kiss he gave her on a summer night, insufferably hot and humid. She felt a wash of disgust and betrayal, she loved him in spite of it and then after the rather infrequency of their intimate late night encounters she tried to pride herself in the knowledge that Sasuke did not use her the way he did Karin because he cared about her.

She had forgiven because she loved him so dearly. She turned onto her back and sniffed back tears, raking her fingers through her hair. Shaking her head, she wondered if Sasuke knew that Sakura was his enemy and the lover of his enemy. Would she need to remind him when he returned or would it be too late? She could inquire for Sakura's freedom; plead for her. No one had done that for Sakura, everyone had only allowed her to stay within their palace, gossiping about her and allowing her to ensnare their Otokage. A sense of calm came over Ino then and she stopped crying. She hugged her pillow and wished she could speak to Sasuke immediately, but she would have to wait for now he was far from Otogakure at the time. Ino closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Sakura, the woman who had captured her Otokage's eye, was rousing. The cold woke her. She felt the chill on her face, pricked the inside of her nose, seeming to burn. Pulling the covers up over her nose to shield out the cold, she realized she was in bed. She slipped out of the bed, unsure how she had ended up there when she was sure she had fallen asleep at the seat close to the window. She was not sure how long she had been sleeping, but it felt like a long time, wrapped up warm and sleeping soundly, deeply through the dark and the cold. Something would no longer allow her to sleep, so she removed the covers, got up, and pulled on a warm shawl. She crept out of her bedroom, walking down the long, empty corridor in a silent, empty palace. There was no transition: One moment she was fast asleep the next she was wandering with no direction or purpose down a freezing corridor with rich carpeting, gray stoned walls and great wide windows. The aura at night was one of gloom and unease. Her feet whispered over the stone steps as she moved downstairs. There were soldiers and servents alike roaming about, but they paid her no special attention. The halls shone bright in the blue moonlight, she stepped down the next level of lengthy stairs and found herself on the ground floor, in the entrance hall, facing the great double doors that led outside, guarded by two sentinels. She wanted to run to the doors, and escape. A voice from behind her said. "You can't leave. There is no way out for you. You're confined here, a prisoner of the Otokage and his realm."

Sakura spun around, and there, standing in the hall, calm and civilized as always, was Sai. Dressed smartly and expensively tailored with a polite smile and cold, cold eyes that were not always so. "Sai, you're awake late."

"Indeed. And you, my lady, could you not sleep?" Sakura shook her head. "The Otokage and his men rode out hours ago, but there are still men patrolling the halls at night. They are but rough soldiers, accustomed to thinking a woman is there for the taking if she is wandering around when decent women are keeping to their quarters. Has it occurred to you that some man might find you sauntering and think you were longing for his company?" Sakura looked down at her dress that she fell asleep in and the shawl she wore over her shoulders. She supposed she looked disheveled as well. Sakura touched her hair and smoothed the strands between her fingers. "Here, allow me to escort you back to your room." Sakura, nodding in agreement, allowed Sai to take her by the hand.

"Where did he go?" Sakura found herself asking as they came to the top the stairs. Sai pulled her along, down the hall she had trailed a while ago, hand still tucked in his. He led her up the dark path, and she wondered if he would soon answer her question or not. Sakura was tired of these games. She felt she was deserved something, she agreed to this lifestyle and yet she was treated somewhat as though she had not. Sai brought her back to the room and they stood with each other for a moment before Sai spoke, his voice calm and smooth. He hesitated a long moment while she stared into his face, the moonlight illuminating his features as she took a step back.

"The Otokage has ridden off to Konohagakure. He has revoked the war cessation. It seems you're being here has held no sway on his determination to eradicate Konohagakure." Sai studied her face. Sakura felt horrible, she had stayed with in Otogakure for a promise now broken. Sakura was staring at him, her face gone ashen. She stepped back over the threshold. Sai studied her face. She was so beautiful, so lovely, yet also lonely and sad. A feeling of deep sorrow began to tug at her features. There was something about her. She looked so lost and alone. Why was she here? He looked at her and waited, trying to smile. Sai turned away, unable to look at her any more. Sakura's heart sunk in her chest. She closed the door as Sai walked away. Sakura turned and looked out the heavily frosted window and down at the snowy garden. What was she doing here? She had come for Neji but she had not left with him, was that not her true intent, to rescue and to reunite with him. She felt her tears spring to life. She had banned physical sorrow, refused so many times to weep. A rush of emotions rose in her. She gulped quickly, trying to force down her emotions. A single tear escaped. Then another, she had been abandoned. She did not hate Neji, she loved him and missed him and wished that he would come for her, why was it taking so long for him to rescue her? She regretted now not know what he wrote in those sent letters.

Sai was descending the stairs as Ino was climbing them. Together they could hear the sound of subdued weeping. "Is everyone awake tonight? I thought I saw you off to bed hours ago." Ino smiled thinly, shortly and then lifted her head towards the sound of the crying. "I told Sakura-hime that the Otokage has gone to Konohagakure."

Ino pressed her lips together in a tight frown, and then shrugged. "Very well," She continued to climb the stairs and made a move to go around him, but he stopped her with a hand circling her wrist. Ino stayed still, not looking at him, though he was close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. Could those long, slender fingers detect the accelerating thud of her pulse? He seemed to be waiting for her to speak. Instead, she looked down at his hand where it bound her wrist. "Sai," her voice was flat, not amused.

"When will you look at me? I have his face, they all say." Ino looked up at him. "Yes. I want you to look at me the way you look at him. I have nothing but desire for you. I want no other but you. Your wit, your smile, your determination, your stubbornness, the fire in your eyes, the way you move, the sound of your voice, the curves of your body, everything. I worship it all."

"You're drunk," she said quickly. "Hours ago you laughed at the idea of us." she added, as he loosened his hold. She looked at his face and undeniably, it was as Sasuke's was, who was much too attractive by moonlight, but it was not the same either. He seemed to sense her ambivalence, his eyes like ebony mirrors gazing at her steadily, flickered. He shifted his gaze then to the dark stairs below and descended. Ino watched him, pulled her own robes against her. She fluttered her lashes rapidly in a blink then turned from his departure and headed back up the stairs. She could not sleep for the fact that she wanted to speak with Sakura who might not want to speak after what Sai had told her. This knowledge of the Otokage returning to battle her realm was unsettling, especially when her loved ones were involved and her betrothed. Ino knocked on the door, but she yielded no response. Ino reached into her pocket of her robe and pulled out the key to the room.

Ino entered the dimly lit room and found Sakura standing on the ledge of the window, the snow drifting down, catching in her hair. She was staring out the window at the moon. Ino could not look away. Sakura, was going to jump out the window to her death? Ino snapped out of her reverie. She ran over to the distraught girl, took her by the skirt of her dress and pulled her down back inside. When Ino had Sakura firmly back on the bed, she shut the window, locked it and stared at Sakura in disbelief. "What were you doing?" the words came out too harshly. Ino regretted her tone almost immediately. Ino stared at Sakura's eyes filled with sorrow. Guilt hammered into her heart. "I'm sorry Sakura… I was just worried, I guess."

Sakura, her palm pressed against her forehead, was trying to hold back her tears. "I wanted to see the moon. I was just looking." She rested her head on a pillow and closed her eyes, red and puffy from crying. "I wasn't trying to kill myself." She told her firmly. Ino eyed her suspiciously. Sakura covered her face with both hands. "I was just thinking. I just want to disappear far away from here and Konohagakure." Ino nodded. She could only imagine how Sakura felt, she did not fully understand, how could she, she was not undergoing the same circumstances that Sakura was experiencing. She pulled Sakura up, wrapped her arms around her, and pulled her close. Ino dipped her head, burying her face in the girl's pink hair. Perhaps this simple act could at least help make her feel like not all hope was completely departed from Otogakure's palace.

"Listen, I cannot promise you anything, but maybe… when the Otokage returns I might speak to him on your behalf. What further use are you here? The time of truce has crumbled and he now takes his army to Konohagakure." Sakura's shoulders shook with sobs. Small keening wails of grief poured forth, interrupted only by sniffles as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up at Ino, and in the dimness, she could see the swollen eyes, the red nose, and the blotchy complexion and frustratingly enough, she was still beautiful. Ino could not bear to have her here and tolerating Sasuke to befall any bewitching seductions from one she herself did not approve or ever would. She loved Sasuke no matter the truth that he may never return those feelings or did not want to. She pushed Sakura back by the shoulders and looked at her with a smile, besides; the girl Sasuke took to his bed did not love him. She voiced her love faithfully since her arrival. She loved Hyuuga Neji of Konohagakure.

"What am I going to do?" Sakura whispered to Ino. "I want to go home. I want to see Neji. I told myself I was angry with him. That I did not want to see him, but I do. I want to go back and be with him and my family. I am sorry, so sorry that I thought such awful notions, but I did not really feel that way, deep inside. I have nothing but love for Neji. I sometimes feel mad with grief and uncertainty. I know that he was in poor condition when the Otokage returned him home, but how long must I endure this imprisonment?"

Ino nodded her head in agreement. "Emotions can be confusing. I have had my share of strange encounters with men and they assume we are the mystifying ones. I can tell you love your Neji-san, so, allow me try to help you return home back with the people you love and miss. He has to return to replenish his provisions. It is obvious that the Otokage broke his promise, so I do not believe you should hold to yours any longer. That was the deal right? You would stay in place of his prisoner and he would grant peace with Konohagakure." Sakura nodded her head, giving Ino a quizzical glance.

"You would do that, for me?" As Ino nodded she reflected it was for her own sake, even as Sakura thankfully hugged her taut. "Do you think he would allow it?" Sakura asked, the excitement apparent in her voice, her green eyes bright. Ino pressed her lips together and nodded. She was not sure what Sasuke would say or do, it was not her place to address such things with him, she was not royalty or of like status, she would do anything to have Sasuke back as he was before, a man without distractions.

"I am sure he'll listen. Sasuke-Ojisama and I grew up together. You know he was an adorable boy." she reminisced fondly with a little giggle. Sakura smiled and sat close to Ino, who twirled a bit of blonde hair around one long finger, biting the inside of her lip to contain a smile. Sakura gave Ino a warm smile that made her feel like a child caught doing something she should not.

"He must be dear to you indeed, from the tone in which you speak of him. Your very emphasizes breathes love."

"Yes, I love him, and you have seen him and must know why I love him. He is handsome, he is knowledgeable, he is ambitious, he is brave, he is good; he is sad, but he will not always be so; and I love him oh so much."

"All lovers are handsome and brave and fond." Sakura said, smiling.

"But sometimes, as you know, there are circumstances that prevent lovers from uniting." Ino frowned now; a look of sorrow possessed her as she absorbed Sakura's lovely face up close. Her soft eyebrows perfectly shaped and arched slightly. The femininity of her thin pink lips, the softness of her smooth light complexion and the long silkiness of her pink hair, all the qualities that men were drawn to in Ino's experience. She did not want to understand or notice why Sasuke would take her to his bed or that rumors of the two whispered through the halls. Ino felt tired once again and excused herself from Sakura's company. Sakura thanked her again before she left. Ino sighed as she closed the door.

Sakura laid out on the bed, looking out the large window. She really hadn't tried to kill herself, though the image in Ino's eyes perhaps was that of a desperate girl, weak on her will and so trapped that death was the only escape, if only spiritually. She was only dreaming of flying. She climbed onto the windowsill, under the glowing disc of the moon and the glittering stars showering the land with snowfall. The very idea of floating off into the night sky and soaring home filled her with a strange, but warm joy she could not obtain otherwise. She hugged the pillow and sighed. Ino spoke of the Otokage with the fondness of a lover but something was keeping them from being together. Sakura thought with reluctance on her time the Otokage, the time she spent in his bed. He was a skilled lover who knew what he was doing, knew how to surprise and tease. He had entangled her in a sensual spell and she had wanted more from him. For several heartbeats, she remained in the clutches of guilt. Ino loved the Otokage and she allowed herself his seductions upon her, his smooth lips pressing a warm kiss to her own. Sakura felt guilty and confused. She should not feel the way she did; it was not as though he was in love with her. She would be mortified to learn that he was. They barely interacted with one another, it was impossible to have a real emotion twining them together, especially after the previous night before. Sakura refused to believe it. For all she cared, Ino could have him; after all, even with the distance between them, she had Neji, her betrothed and love.

Sakura turned her thoughts to what Ino might say to the Otokage, what words would spur his mind and heart and grant Sakura her freedom and ultimate return to her home, but he was there now, he was heading to Konohagakure with cruel intent. She would never believe that he was traveling there under a flag of peace. Sakura felt uneasy, she could not return to sleep; Ino and Sai had stirred her heart and mind. She thought of everything, every outcome, good or ill. She wanted nothing more than to be away from here and yet as she reawakened the feelings of the previous night and the way the Otokage had touched her in a way she had never been touched, she felt wrecked. Why should she think of another man in this manner, why was she being tormented in such a manner, was she such a wanton woman to crave his touch again?

It was not as though she desired to be with him again; perhaps it was just the moment, the memory, the deed so fresh and raw. She felt anger rising again in her chest, with another whirl of emotions. She thought she might lose her mind. Ino was gone now and she believed Ino would not be back again tonight. She climbed out of the bed and felt the brush of the cold as she crossed to the window for the second third time that night. She lifted herself onto the seat below the window, unlatched the lift, and pushed the windows wide open. A blast of cold wind rushed in, bringing snow and ice that chilled her to the bone. She looked out the window at the snow-blanketed garden. It was beautiful; everything glistened white under the moon. Sakura reached her hand out to catch the snowflakes. She cast her gaze back up towards the heavens, closing her eyes against the wind, the cold and the snow; it brushed against her cheeks and numbed her nose, her ears and her fingers.

She wondered where he was, how far he had traveled. The snow on the ground appeared deep, several inches thick. Sakura frowned, she had set out to save Neji once, how was it that she could not go now; she did not require Ino to wait for the return of a man who may not grant her release. The army was gone; her guards did not watch her as they had on her first days in Otogakure. No eyes watched her in the night and with the snow she could disappear quite easily from the palace and who would notice until too late, who would care in the moment. Sakura felt the determination setting in her bones as firmly as the cold. Why wish to fly away, when she could do it. The circumstances were not so different when she left home of Otogakure, there was no reason not to leave Otogakure for home. Someone would try to stop her journey here; someone would try to stop her journey there.

Se reached for the windows and pulled them shut. She could not leave now; she would leave in the last hours of the day tomorrow, before the sun would set, but when the shadows would skulk over the snow covered earth. There was no snow when she made her trek to Otogakure, but she would best the weather, she would overcome her obstacles. Ino was right; if he broke his promise, there was nothing bounding her to her promise to him any longer. Sakura locked the window once again and settled back into the bed, she would spend her last night in this bed. She pulled the blankets close to her and closed her eyes, her mind was awake and she was willing herself to sleep. She kept her eyes closed and took deep breaths, willing herself not to think of anything she could think of as soon as Ino returned to rouse her with the sun's arrival.

Just sleep, she told herself, just sleep…

Her stubborn mind would not give her the ease she required to fall asleep; it started spinning with the same thoughts that kept her roused most nights since her arrival to Otogakure the need to escape and the need to return home. She thought back to her previous thought, how far did the Otokage get in the snow drift would he be close to Konohagakure by the next day, would there still be time for her to reach them, meet them and go on before them without encountering them? How would the army and the horses fair in the snowdrift? She did not suppose it would be much of an achievement. She turned and she thought back on willing herself to fall asleep. She would prepare herself tomorrow. She had enough of sitting on her hands, waiting for someone to come rescue her. She would save herself and she would try to save Konohagakure as well.

She owed no one anything here. She was thankful for Ino and even though Sai merely thought of her as an instrument to eliminate an opponent and as aware of it as she was, she was thankful for the company he provided her when she felt lonely. Now was her chance to seize her freedom, to escape the lasting nightmare that she had lived day after day and night after night. Sakura clung to her pillow and willed her mind to ease, she would need all the rest she could get, she would be escaping in conditions that were not hardly tolerable and she was not sure what she might encounter on her way out and back. She tired to think of seeing her parents' faces again and to hold them close and tell them how she loved them and even though she was away for so long in enemy hands, she was all right, and she had endured.

When Sakura finally felt her body ease, she found herself imagining the Otokage. His face rose unbidden in her mind. Framed by thick, raven hair, his lean beautiful face with a firm jaw, high, wide cheekbones, a straight nose and mouth she found tempting despite the stern line it usually formed into. His eyes captivated her enticingly. Set beneath dark, gently curved brows, rimmed with long, thick lashes were eyes as black as coal and nearly as hard, she could not see where the iris ended and the pupil began. The howl of battle resounded in her sleep-vision like a maelstrom. Screams and shrieks of the dead and dying, blood splashed over his face, dripping down and over his lips. There was a flurry of snow. The soft flakes floated through the smoke-laden air. Sakura whimpered in her sleep. He was a beautiful disaster, he would lay waste to Konohagakure and she could not stop it. She could try to reach Konohagakure and warn them; even if she was too late, the urge to try was great and even greater was her determination to leave behind the bleak world she found she cast her self in to save a man she loved. The Otokage was a several miles ahead of her with horses to close the distance she had yet to travel, she feared the worst and it made for a restless night, she wondered if she would be in time and knew that she had to be, no matter the cost.

The night was cold with winter's presence. The sharp, bitterness of the wind cut across the Otokage's face, causing his eyes to tear. When he exhaled, the wind snatched away the smoke and the steam of his breath, and made him feel even colder. After hours of tromping in the snowstorm, Sasuke had lost some feeling in his fingers, gloved as they were, and his booted toes. He could feel an icy pain working its way up his back. His chest ached, and his throat was raw; his eyelids almost frozen shut. His body was sore with the cold. He pushed the numbness out of his mind and continued riding onward, further into the dark and snowy forest. He pulled his thin, black cloak tighter against his body, trying to ward against the growing snowdrifts, some so high they threatened to force him back with his purpose unfulfilled. He was determined to see this through and was closer to completing his quest for revenge than he had ever been. No winter storm, no matter how cold or terrible it might be, was going to keep him from finally ending it.

Encouraging his steed on, up the whitened slope and through the trees, his troops followed. They had traveled for hours, eating up the miles in a steady fast lope. They flashed before his eyes, the ghosts of his parents, lying toppled over one another, lifeless, their bodies cut open and the blood spilled about them. He peered into the ashen gloom, skeletal in their winter form the braches stretched out toward him, like the desperate arms of his dead parents. They were silently begging Sasuke to help them, but it was too late for rescue. He could do nothing to save them. Breaking the illusion and pounding down the hillside, they came to a stretch of open ground. Sasuke reined in his mount. He surveyed the stretch of open ground before him; there were faint tracks in the snow, only just now vanishing with the drift. Suigetsu loomed alongside him. "They were here." Suigetsu noted, with his eyes focused on the ground below. Sasuke nodded his head as the wind blew up and whistled in the trees, which had grown icy teeth, snarling down from the bare brown and rattling branches. Karin and Juugo, on their respected steeds trotted closer, Karin pressing her gloved hands to her mouth, puffing warm breath into her cupped palm, Juugo a silent wall against the cold wind.

"How many...?" Karin asked, squinting her crimson eyes down below them and then into the dark of the forest beyond. She moved closer to Sasuke until she could rest her head comfortably against his shoulder. "I should ride with you to keep you warm." She teased with a whisper. Sasuke pretended he did not hear. Would she talk like that? Sasuke asked himself, suddenly and briefly thinking of his captive princess, her soft, floral scented pink tresses just under his nose to tease his senses.

"A few more, a few less…" Suigetsu lifted his chin, his eyes bright and menacing. "They're not far, we'll catch them soon." There was a hint of pleasure lacing his words. "We find them; we kill them, every one." A thin smirk drawing up his lips and revealing a row of white teeth, filed into sharp points. Suigetsu's smile grew even further, his tongue darting out to lick his top lip as if he were about to feast on a decadent banquet, toying with the thought as a predator often did with its prey. Sasuke said nothing; he would let Suigetsu off his rope every now and then, especially when the purpose served his intentions.

"Then let's be going." Sasuke muttered. He reached down and took hold of the reigns. His hands tightening as they did, Sasuke tried to keep her at bay from penetrating his mind. He checked his surroundings for signs of danger, nothing could steer him from his destination now: Konohagakure. He looked at the clearing around him, but he could discern little. It was dark and gloomy, the braches, ever reaching. The available light allotted was reflected off the heavy snowfall, highlighting the narrow path with a ghostly glow deeper into the forest. The frigid wind became so fierce that even the larger branches were solidly frozen, weighted down by ice and snow. The cold wind that made it hard to keep going, even the air itself protested the unnatural storm, echoing the vengeful sounds of the wind back at him.

Sasuke pulled his collar up higher to cover his frosted cheeks. It was the harshest winter any of them had ever experienced. "As our Otokage-sama commands," Suigetsu reared up his charger and then, as he dropped back down, kicking up snow from the earth, he plowed down the hill. On Sasuke's order, Suigetsu rode ahead of the troops. As he did so, his right arm swept out, and he called out an order. Some of the troops veered off to the right. Suigetsu barked out a second order and another group headed to the left. The troops ran on silently. They plowed through the thickness of the woods and the low-hanging branches. They then slowed and Juugo pointed ahead. Columns of men were marching over the brow of the hill some quarter of a mile away.

Images of fire and smoke and cries of pain, agony, and grief emerged from somewhere deep inside him. It almost seemed that Sasuke swayed, hypnotized by the rhythm of the cries in his mind. He first saw a group of bare trees on fire. The yellow flames quickly sprang from the tree to another and then another, engulfing everything in its intense heat, its crippling blaze. Cries for help and screams of terror and pain echoed through his mind as they crested the hill upon the troop of the Hokage still marching ahead of them, oblivious to the danger. He smirked, his own wicked grin as one of the soldiers swung around and shouted a warning. The soldiers drew their weapons and tried to form a defensive wall. There was no time. The Otokage's unit tore into them. Karin, thrown from her mount by a soldier's long spear, hit the ground hard, rolling. The spearmen loomed over her, banishing a sword now. Sasuke's sword hacked into the man's neck, and there was a satisfying gush of blood. Blood bubbled and spurted, splattering over Sasuke's face and he fell, limp, great gouts of gore pulsing from the out from the gash. Sasuke wrenched free his blade and turned, running into the fray. An officer on a tall horse was leading the men. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, hate and vengeance coiled in his stomach.

Sasuke gripped his weapon, ran up the white hill and through the brigade. A few soldiers tried to deter his pursuit as they caught sight of him, they broke ranks, spread out, they charged with swords and spears drawn. A large solider swung his sword haphazardly at Sasuke's neck in a mighty arc. Sasuke stood his ground as the man let out a fierce cry, his sword clashing against Sasuke's with a loud clang amongst the din. At the impact, Sasuke swung underneath, but the brute parried as if his sword held no weight. He was not a skilled fighter, rather a man who liked to hack aimlessly and auspiciously with pure strength. The brute grunted and swung his sword fiercely, as if to cut Sasuke in two. Leaping backward, the blade slicing by with a loud whoosh, he avoided contact. Sasuke caught him off guard and sliced the brute's face wide open with the slashing swing of his sword, he grabbed his face, screaming in agony. Blindly, the sword came around again in a wide sweep. Sasuke dropped to his knees to avoid it and lacerated with a shorter blade, the man let out another cry and hit his knees, his hot, split blood melting the snow. He had hoped the man would have dropped the sword, but his fist still held it desperately tight, and in an instant it was sweeping through the air again.

Sasuke swooped down, after a carefully planned roll, coming to his feet and immediately lunging at his enemy. His opponent avoided the stab, but he stumbled and he was unable to swing the sword back for another effective assault. His own momentum made driving the short blade into his belly rather simple. He drove the blade deep to the hilt and up. The man scream, blood gurgled in his throat, choking his screams to silence and he thudded to the snow below, still. Another soldier thrust his sword toward Sasuke's left, who easily parried it away with the side of his sword. He quickly thrust his sword and then quickly plunged his sword into the soldier's neck. Blood spurted everywhere and the soldiers eyes rolled up. He dropped face down upon the last body and Sasuke spit on his corpse and looked up for the Battle Commander.

He looked down on the fleet of soldiers below him, slain by him, by his men, an emotionless expression plastered on his face. These were the faces, the bodies of his enemies. He wanted blood, he wanted revenge and Konohagakure was his sacrifice, his means to bring about his demon from an unwanted past. Where was he? Where was he! He narrowed his eyes, the flurry of wafting snow blinding him; he nearly came to blows with Suigetsu, who was already in a murderous frenzy. Their sword blades linked, Sasuke held back his sword, squeezed his wrist, pushed back his arm. His face, like Sasuke's, covered in blood, his eyes wild, until Sasuke knocked him back. He stayed grounded, looked up and then smiled, the same wicked smile, only his eyes lifted from the veil-concealing foe from ally. "More!" he barked, brushing away the white hair speckled with blood falling over his forehead and into his eyes. He bounded back into the scrimmage. Sasuke turned to see Karin loosing arrows, one after another, men falling prey to her accuracy. Juugo, where the giant he slew earlier, successfully using his bare hands and even the soldiers own weapons against them.

"There won't be any left…" Sasuke hissed, peering through the onset blizzard. He strode through the storm, his cape wavering, torn, bloodied, tattered. The cold no longer a concern, his was Itachi… his was the Battle Commander, for a reason no serious, he told himself, than the suffering wrought. The descendants of Otogakure would be the wind to fan the flame of Uchiha, the descendants of Konohagakure the straw. They would burn and be destroyed. There would be no one left among them. "There will be no survivors in Konohagakure. I, Otogakure no Oujisama, have spoken!" He shouted against the wind. The snow painted red with the blood of the fallen.

A/N: Forgive me ahead of time if this story never has an appropriate conclusion. I really don't know what to do with these characters in this story and my other story I posted is a huge failure. I am feeling like a wash up...