The Fallen Swan

Act V

The characters from "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Bitter cold, the wooden floors in the dance room were always bitter cold when you first laid upon them. No matter what part of the body touched that wooden floor first, it was always guaranteed to be one hundred percent, bitter cold. It made you not even want to dance with the icicle shards seemingly wrapping around your body, as you lay upon it's wooden exterior. Her eyes stayed closed the whole time during this morning excersie of this floor routine. She breathed in deeply as she let the ocean music calm down her nerves, she tried to not think about the current events that had come before her.

First she moved her feet back and forth, back and forth in a calming fluid motion. She started to feel her skin try and warm itself up from the cold floor as she continued to move back and forth. 'My dream.." she thought to herself as she tried to relax once more, Hades. Once again he loved to just interrupt her thoughts, and even in her dreams he would sometimes poke around and evade whenever he pleased. He had entered last night to give her an order, and just to bug her she was sure.

Breathing in deeply she raised her chest slowly up off of the ground, and used her fingertips to reach for her toes. Before staying there for a few moments, as she slowly laid herself back down once again. She repeated this motion a few more times as she thought of his orders to her, to seek his brother. Most never knew that these Gods were brothers, but indeed they were. The cold, dark, distasteful Hades, was related to a loving, perverted, the big guy himself, Poseidon.

She laid back and let her body go into an X position onto the floor before she contracted her stomach and laid her body to the side. Before she uncontracted and reached out in an X position on her side before contracting once more. She tried to control her breathing as she thought about the sea. All of those people in that ship wreck from last night, that was due to Poseidon. Why did he follow his brother's orders to do such a thing? She sighed as she bit her bottom lip and then rolled her body around before laying back on the floor in an X position.

She turned to her left side now and continued with her warm up as she contracted her stomach and breathed in deeply. Why did people have to die before their time? Was it really suppose to be that way? She knew death had to occur with humans by nature, but ever since she started working for Hades he seemed to just add more death to anger her even more. She slowly rolled around herself and then stood up to stand as she shook her head. 'The sound of the ocean is making me sick today..' she thought to herself as she grabbed her bag and shut off the ocean music from the stereo. She couldn't practice properly until she talked to Poseidon and got this mess over with.

Searching through her purse to grab her keys she sighed gently, knowing that she had to find his entrance to his domain. It was always a pain to find the entrance just because he changed it so much, just as the tides changed with each day he too loved to change his location. The drive to the pier wasn't that far away because they lived close to the beach, within 30 minutes or so she stopped and parked her car and stepped out and onto the pier. She left her possessions in the car as she made her way down the pier, to look over the wooden railings. She glanced around herself and noticed for it being a cloudy day, and just before a storm not many people were around. She then looked back down and spoke, "I know you can hear me pervert, I am here on orders."

Within seconds a wave about as large as a building came and collapsed on top of her, no matter how many times this happened to her she could not get over the shock of it all. She closed her eyes as she let the ocean take her, and guide her to an underground cavern before it pushed her up with such force she ended up on her knees on the caverns floor. Hunching over she coughed out some of the water she had swallowed and slowly stood up as she placed her now soaking wet hair in a bun. "Can't you guide me here better? I mean does it have to be that way all the time?"

"What can I say, I do love a lady when she is all soaking wet in front of me." Said the man who came out from behind a rock as he stood in front of her, for a split second before she punched him hard on the side of the face that sent him to the ground. "You will never change will you old man!" She yelled as she stared down at him, while he rubbed his cheek and grinned at her.

"Sakura, you have gotten so pretty throughout the years, you can't blame me." He was about to continue when he saw her get ready to swing for round two, before putting up his hands in surrender. "Alright now Sakura, I am done. So what orders were you sent on?"

"I came to see if you did your job, was the ship wreck a success?"

"Well of course it was, who do you think I am? Enough about me, how are you doing Sakura? I know it has been hard being stuck with us Gods." Poseidon walked over and embraced her in a hug, and she wanted to fight back but it was somehow comforting. He was someone that did try and watch over her from time to time, but how he did Hades bidding without batting an eyelash she would never know.

He stood at least a head taller than her with flowing white hair on top of his head. He had coal eyes but she had seen a warmth in them that you would not normally expect from those eyes. He had a small mole on the left side of his face near his nose, and a caring nature. She could not be thinking this about him right now especially with the Gods, she did not want to get tied up further in their matters.

She pushed him away and brushed off her arms where he touched her, and gave him a death glare suggesting she was fine. "I do not understand why you do things for him Jiraiya..He is Hades after all." Her eyes turned soft as she looked at him and his heart softened and he placed his hands over his chest.

"Using my real name are you? Man, you must be serious." He paused for a moment to look at her and take her in, how much had she been hurt dealing with all the things the Gods had placed before her? Getting mixed up with Hades, out of all of them she did have rotten luck. "Hades...was different before. Well before the incident, and he changed and I just want to see if he will change back before straying too far."

"So, I have to suffer for that? For his past mistakes?" She whispered as she clenched her fist before him, Jiraiya on the other hand arched a brow and a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"You know Sakura my dear, you should go see my dear love. I think you two would get along quite nicely, yes you are practically the same person." Sakura slowly let her fist become unclenched as she looked up at him and arched a brow, "If this is some weird way in asking me out Jiraiya, I will say no." Jiraiya started bursting out laughing and slapped his knee while shaking his head, "No my dear, Tsunade is her name and she lives close to the beach here. I will send word for her to look you up, I am sure she would be interested in meeting you."

Sakura shrugged, and turned away and started walking as she waved her hand in the air, "As always it has been a real pleasure sir." Jiraiya started watching her walk away before he called out to her and asked, "The boy has come back hasn't he? The one that can help us all get rid of this horrible curse we are under."

Sakura stopped walking for just a brief moment, not even turning around her reply was seemingly ice cold, "He isn't here to save anyone, he never looked out for anyone but himself so why would that change now? He isn't here for us, especially not me." With that said she continued to walk off and jumped into the water and swam out.

Coal eyes starred into the darkness as he watched from his rooftop of the apartment building he had rented for the time being. Wearing nothing but a simple white button up collar shirt, and black jeans, he gazed at the scene below him. Watching as Sakura entered her apartment after going to the dance studio all day, she was finally home and giving herself a rest. His peace was soon interrupted by a familiar presence sitting down next to him, near his space on the roof top.

"I knew you were back when she started acting distant towards me again." Sasuke looked over at the blond haired boy with blue eyes sitting down next to him. Sasuke arched an eyebrow to the intruder of his private space as he leaned back to get a better look at him, "So what are you going to do Naruto? Be her protector? Tell me to leave? Or are just going to go with the old fashion, punch?"

"I would love to punch you out, but we both know that it won't get us anywhere." Naruto said as he looked back at her apartment and noticed Sakura going into her room to change with the blinds closed.

"You know she won't come to you Sasuke, even though years ago people would not deny she would. She has changed, and even though she has I still care about her. I want to protect her and be there for her, and I will...even with you here I will stop you if you dare hurt her." Naruto stood up and looked down on his rival as he placed his hands in his pockets. "You have been warned buddy." And just like that, Naruto was gone.

Sasuke let out stiff laugh as he looked down onto Sakura's apartment. "He loves her huh? Just like the old days.." Sasuke shifted his eyes as a figure suddenly appeared in Sakura's apartment, out of thin air. The intruder did not use the door or window, and he seemed to be yelling at Sakura. Without thinking Sasuke stood up and jumped off his building across the narrow street and kicked the window to her room shattering it open with glass falling over as Sakura stood there in black yoga pants and a sports bra.

By this time when Sasuke had landed, the first intruder had left and what was left in their place were two children. One had grey hair, and was a little boy with a patch over his left eye. While the other was a girl with brown hair, that went to her shoulders. They both stood in front of Sakura and glared at Sasuke.

"Who are they?" Sakura twitched her eyebrow before she grabbed the nearest object to her and chucked it at his head, for which he swiftly dodged. "You break into my apartment, shatter my window, and then demand to know who they are? You are some piece of work Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura said as she glared down at her used to be..love.

The children decided to speak for themselves as the boy replied, "The names Apollo, and this here is Artemis." Sakura sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "You better leave Sasuke, they are my children and protectors so you should go."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and replied, "You're Children?"

Sakura stared him down and could no move from her spot by the wall she was now leaning up against. She could not believe Sasuke kept on appearing, and at the oddest times. Why was here? Of course Apollo and Artemis would appear to ward off any intruder, and he appears. She could not believe this was happening but she wanted to show she was strong and wouldn't give into him.

She stood up against the wall and raised her hand and pointed at Sasuke before saying coldly, "Kakashi, Rin please remove him from my sight."

End of chapter.

What. the. fetch.

...Is probably what everyone is thinking I know! Sorry I took a break from my stories for bit because well.. I got married to my childhood friend. Around the time I started writing this and rewriting this chapter I got engaged and then got so caught up with graduating college, and wedding plans I went on a bit of a break!

This was a little bit of a short chapter I just wanted to post it so you all knew I was here, and still writing!

nice twist huh? For this version apollo and artemis are friends, not siblings.

If you are wondering why they are children, don't worry it will be explained later :)

I am back, and as always r&r makes me write faster and just gives me motivation!

I am also starting new story with new characters, crazy I know but I thought I would give it a try.

-Krisy