Sacred Sin

This is the female form,

A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot,

It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction…

The last breath was exhaled from her physical form as her spiritual took on new life. Her eyes remained wide opened on her target, because he could be nothing else to her. An offending opponent, enemy to everything she was and represented. What else could he be?

He was a number, one that outnumbered her team four to three.

He was a pawn; one used for a sole purpose, only to be discarded when he served no further use to his leader, his savior, his master.

He was a tool, one who rivaled Chouji in strength on the battlefield.

He was a demon, one born to cause destruction in his path without any regard.

Entering his mind would be simple enough. She wouldn't let something like emotions get in the way; it wasn't part of the plan. All that was needed was a few moments, enough for him to be subdued, then detained. Get in, get out, Shikamaru's words rang clear in her form.

The world was always unclear, whenever she was in this state; only focus had let her maintain her path. But she would always see her victim's eyes before entering them, this time not being the exception.

His otherworldly golden eyes; narrowed in the stare of a beast.

The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place,

He too is all qualities, he is action and power,

The flush of the known universe is in him…

He knew, immediately, that someone other than the body expander had enacted their jutsu on him. He felt it, one moment crushed in the man's large hands like an animal; his ravenous hunger consuming him and then the next was almost indescribable.

He was sent back, pushed into the back of his mind, away from the battlefield, from those Konoha shinobis, from his catalyst…

Panic set in, his bloodied eyed catalyst was gone and in his primal state, without Sasuke there to numb him, he felt…felt…

Nothing. He saw, heard, or felt nothing, for only a moment. Then he saw a woman who seemed more angelic than anything he ever witnessed in his time alive, caged or released. For all he knew, he probably wasn't alive anymore and maybe the unspoken wish that inhabited the back of him mind came true. Maybe he wouldn't hurt anyone anymore. It wasn't possible to hurt someone when you were dead, if you were dead…

Was he that deserving? To die without any pain, only to meet an ethereal woman, one with flaxen locks and bright blue eyes. He could only willingly accept the fact that she was his maker and hope that she came to deliver his final blow.

Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well,

The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is utmost become him well,

Pride is for him…

The enraged, uncontrollable beast, the man filled with so much power, blinded by mere words spoken from a traitor's mouth, took the form of a little boy right in front of her.

To say that Ino was confused was an understatement; she simply didn't understand. She knew, better than anyone that a mind shows a person for what they truly are, every honest intention and every dark desire.

When she entered her best friend's mind at the tender age of twelve, she discovered that Sakura was plagued by her desperation to break out into the person she wanted to be. It had warped into something vicious; something fierce until it was a dark void with an outspoken spirit inhabiting it.

Shikamaru's mind was crisp, undeniable straightforward. It was as if every event he had taken witness to had been stored away, only to be used at the opportune moment.

And Chouji's mind had always been a favorite to explore, his love for food was all the more evident because every scent, sweet, bitter, burned, sour, were all there in different parts of his mind, the ultimate culinary experience.

She saw a meadow, one filled with the sounds of nature, a breathtaking design of grasses, flowers and trees, along with a free flowing stream. The small boy's eyes tentatively opened, revealing the same gold irises. The only difference was that these were warmer, more human like, not animalistically untamed.

"Am I…Are you a Shinigami?" His soft tone contrasted with his unruly blonde spikes and Ino looked down at the little boy in confusion.

"Why would you think I'm a Shinigami?" Ino inquired back softly, her focus on the mission momentarily lapsing.

"Because only Shinigami appear, when someone dies, correct?" The boy cocked his head to the side slightly, as his long shirt slid off his left shoulder. He stated his question with a serious disposition, as if it was the most obvious question in the world.

Ino went down on one knee to be face to face with the boy, "Why would you think you're dead?" She continued their interrogation of one another. She searched the depths of his eyes, to determine if this was a deception she hadn't foreseen. His gold orbs seemed to swirl with childlike warmth.

His eyebrows met in confusion, "You mean, I'm not?" He asked another question, this time with a hint of disappointment. He bowed his head away from her vision and Ino raised his chin up with her graceful digit.

"What's your name?" She smiled at his genially, despite the situation. He looked at her with wonder and fascination, enough to make Ino want to laugh, but she composed herself, focusing on the matter at hand.

"Juugo." He said hastily, and if it weren't for the slight tinge of pink on his cheeks as he bowed his head down again, she would've asked him if he was always so serious.

She smiled a bit wider and touched his shoulder. He looked at her hand set in its place, following the path from her arm to her slender neck and further up to her full mouth, "I'm Ino."

He was immediately startled and looked back down again, then looked up, focusing on her bright azure orbs. They were so trusting, so warm…He would do anything for those eyes.

Her blonde locks fell down her face and back, almost creating a halo of platinum rays behind her.

He became entranced with this angel, this Ino, and there were only few words spoken between them. To think that she could've been a Death God, even the implication seemed insulting to him now. Her angelic appearance, her ethereal presence indicated that she couldn't possibly be anything of that nature, but if she wasn't a Shinigami, surely an angel wouldn't come to release him from this world. Not when he was so tainted, so demonic…

Ino remembered something, while she was nearby the battle site, hidden by her native trees. She remembered Sasuke holding a katana to Shikamaru's neck and she remembered him telling someone, by the name of Juugo to 'let loose.' When he thought he had the upper hand. When Shikamaru let him believe he had the upper hand, in which he should've known that underestimating your opponents was a fatal mistake.

Juugo, the man with the wild dirty blonde tresses dressed in an official Akatsuki cloak, stepped forward, slowly at first, but then looking piercingly at Chouji, taking long strides like he was stalking prey. His eyes became crazed and his breathing labored, like an animal on the edge of reason and destruction.

She knew Chouji could take care of himself, the same with Shikamaru, but past promises almost made her give away her position and fight alongside them. It, of course, would've been stupid and foolhardy, but the longer this enemy progresses into stages of disturbia; the bigger the chance was that the plan would fail. The worst-case scenario: Ino's position being given away, eliminating the element of surprise, with Chouji being the fatal casualty.

The small, almost innocent little boy in front of her couldn't be the unremorseful killer she saw. But, as Morino Ibiki said, as her being proof of this herself, appearances are deceiving.

She should kill this little boy; it wouldn't be hard. Minds were delicate, fragile. But if he was trapped, if he wasn't the killer she saw, could she live with unsoiled blood on her hands?

If, by chance, Sasuke were controlling him, would he be able to tell her?

The man's body is sacred and the woman's body is sacred;

No matter who it is, it is sacred…

"Juugo," She started to say gently, testing his name on her tongue like a forbidden fruit, "Did Sasuke make you the way you are?"

His golden orbs dimmed, "No. I was born that way."

"Born that way?" She quoted him questioningly.

He nodded, "Yeah, and when I wanted to…fix it, it only became worse. Sasuke's the only one who can help me, make me stop hurting people."

"And those shinobi," Her eyebrows wrinkled, "They weren't people?"

A flash of shame and pain spread across his face, then faded solemnly, "They were in his way. Normally Sasuke doesn't let me get like that, but…it was necessary."

She understood now that Juugo needed Sasuke to maintain sanity, even if it was only when Juugo wasn't necessary to the situation.

"Are we leaving this place soon?" He interrupted her thoughts and she had to think for a moment before she answered, "Yes, we are."

He continued to look at her, "Do you promise you won't let Sasuke get hurt?"

She averted her vision away from those pircing gold orbs, "I-I can't-"

"I promise I won't let him hurt you, I promise." His stare was pleading and honest.

She couldn't help, but think that if he and Chouji had met under different circumstances, they would've made great friends. She also couldn't bypass the fact that he was undeniably cute.

What she didn't want to say was that she could assure the same for his traitorous leader.

She didn't answer after that and he sighed, "Can you promise me you won't hurt him?"

She chuckled dryly at that, "Only if he doesn't kill me first." Besides, she doubted that at her level, she could even lay a fair scratch on him. Juugo smiled, "Yeah, only if he doesn't kill you first."

The full-spread pride is calming and excellent to the soul,

Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing to the test of himself…

Ino opened her eyes and shut them again, blinking a few times to focus her vision. She saw Sasuke hovering over her, katana still sheathed, not for long. She was breathing heavily and noticed a girl who obviously needed The Jaws Of Life to untame her unruly red locks.

"See, Sasuke? I knew someone else was here…of course, prostitutes always linger around men of substance."

Ino gritted her teeth at the girl, then heard a moan near her. It was rough, but it sounded like Chouji…and Shikamaru was yet to be seen. If anything happened to them, she may have to break her promise.

"Any last words, Yamanaka?" Uchiha Sasuke spoke at last, her name unholy on his tongue.

Ah. So he still remembered her name. She grinned despite her situation and the fact that she looked less than presentable, "Tell your little pawn that I don't see any men of substance around here."

The redhead immediately moved towards her, but was stopped by a hand signal Sasuke gave her. She sneered menacingly and Ino gave her a wide smile. If she was going to go, might as well go out with a bang.

The katana was unsheathed in a quick movement, almost too quick for her eyes to follow. She clenched her eyes shut after, waiting for her final blow.

He was out of the man's clutches, and he saw it all transpire.

She, the angel he was talking to, was sprawled out on the ground, the once neat blonde hair splaying everywhere, making a bigger halo.

Sasuke was over her, looking down at her like he would kill her. He would kill her. She simply stood in his way. And Karin, he gritted his teeth, had called her a prostitute. Ino, the one who had looked at him as if he were of some importance with her big azure eyes, the one who smiled at him instead of cringing away in fear. If the implication of her being a Shinigami was insulting, then announcing her a whore should've been a sin.

She said a cutting remark aimed at Karin, which he smirked at slightly since she wasn't paying attention to him. And then Sasuke unsheathed his sword…

And then he was in front of it, squeezing the blade with his hands to keep it from penetrating his diaphragm, blood slicing the clean blade unclean. His breath hitched as the blade slid an inch more towards him, due to the blood.

"Juugo, what are you doing? Get out of the way." Sasuke commanded coldly at the obstacle.

"You're going to try to save this whore?" Karin screeched underhandedly.

"I can't let you hurt her," He stated evenly to his first catalyst, "She can do the same thing you can, she can restore my sanity…"

Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you,

Each has his or her place in the procession…

TBC…

Arrg! Half a night of writing this, and STILL not done with it…Oh well, I guess this is gonna be a two-shot then, huh? Or possibly three…

First Juugo x Ino on Fanfiction, WOOT! Comments/Criticism is wanted, not too sure if I was IC, but I tried…by the way, the poetic excerpts were by…

You know what? Never mind, I'm not telling until the next installment.

Thanks for reading!

DAC