Naruto 1. Chapter 1 - Oblivion

**Summary:** A war breaks down and the world changes, but a change is not always better and peace doesn't necessarily mean happiness. When loss, poverty, despair and corruption rule their hearts, can love even grow?

This is a story of the war and the days which follows, told from different points of view.

**Status:** ongoing.

**Word count: **3,917

**Disclaimer:** As usual…I **do not** (unfortunately...) own 'Naruto', or the characters in it, or anything associated with it. All I can say I own is (a lot of) free time and nothing to do with it =]

**A/N:** Ok, so I revised the summery of the story now (I hope it's better now). I'm still not too confident with my English and with my writing so any comments you have on the story\the grammar or anything else are more than welcome.

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**Chapter 1 - Oblivion**

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_~Sasuke~_

In the middle of what used to be a beautiful country, destroyed by the passage of time and the cruelty of life itself, stood what was left of the village of light. Once, a long time ago, the name was befitting the place that used to shine brighter than the sun itself. Once, before the destruction, when the trees still grew tall, the soil bore fruits and greenery surrounded the place, this place was considered a heaven upon earth. Once it was a thriving village, peaceful and filled with happiness and laughter. Hard working men and women which in time made themselves a beautiful and happy family, this was indeed a peaceful place, a heaven for those who wished to settle there and a sanctuary for those who passed by. Once, this was the indeed a village of light, the treasured garden of the daimyō himself, the gem which shone brighter than all others amongst all of his treasures and the object of envy for others.

But this was no longer the heaven which it used to be. The name of the village has remained as it was, the village of light, and yet no light shone on this place…not anymore. The flowers withered due to the lack of care, the trees were either cut down or burnt to ashes by the same men and women who planted them, the soil became infertile, death and diseases wiped the smiles that used to greet the passerby's, the hardworking men and women were rendered to mere criminals, murderers and thieves as the poverty struck and as the time passed, from a heaven upon earth this place has become a living hell. The village of time was now a place of darkness, never ending, hollow, ominous darkness that seemed to swallow you whole.

Time was not gracious with this once beautiful village, but then again time was not gracious with most these days.

After the war ended, nothing seemed to remain standing. Villages were destroyed, people were killed and families were torn apart for a cause no one seemed to understand even back then. It was as if the whole world was wiped away only to grow back in the ruins of what it used to be, a new beginning for some and yet for others this was worse than death. For those who lost everything, for those who were already prepared to die and yet constantly feared to take that final step towards the light, for those lost souls that dwelled upon an earth that they could never again belong to, for them this new world was a nightmare and they could never wake up.

He could still remember those days, the heat of the fire that burned all around them, the bodies scattered on the ground, the blood sinking into the earth itself as the war took place all around them and the stench of death that seemed to replace the air itself. It was like an infectious disease, spreading from village to village, from district to district, from country to country, until no sides were left in that god forsaken war. There were no allies and no foes, everyone fought everyone and anyone who entered their sight, they stood on shaking limbs, wiping the blood and the tears from their eyes and they fought for a cause they could no longer believe in. And once the pressure and the fatigue weighted them down, and by some kind of twisted miracle they survived another wave or were saved from another attack by the grace of the gods, they were brought to the hospital to rest only to be sent out again as soon as their wounds began to heal. But not all were lucky like that, those on the verge of death, those suffering serious injuries, poisoning or life threatening infections were left to die out in the battle field. And if they were truly lucky and some men or women passed by them and still felt something for these dying war victims, if they still possessed a heart that was not fully poisoned by the war and the death, then with one swift blow their suffering will end. But most weren't this luck, most suffered until the very end, most were left on the ground...wishing for death to take them, to stop their nightmares.

Time was not gracious with most nowadays and the war did not help mend any wounds, and yet it was in the human nature to stand tall after every fall and the war was a big fall for everyone. Villages were rebuilt; nations were united in the common sorrow of the loss and slowly, time passed and most people moved on. But the village of light remained broken, as if it was a reminder of what they had sacrificed and what they all became. This village became the shelter for the broken, the home of the deranged and the grave of the sick...it truly was a living hell.

He walked slowly through the darkened streets, a few lamps still illumination his passage as he made his way to his destination, lost in the memories of the past. A wrinkled hand on his forearm brought his attention back to the present. "Please" the elderly woman begged, a baby sleeping in her other arm as she 'worked' to provide food for the both of them. "Please" she begged again, her eyes indicating of the beauty she once possessed, her blue eyes that probably shone with pride and happiness in the past were now dull, almost dead; if she truly did posses any degree of beauty in the past, it was all gone now...time was not gracious with her as well. "Please help my baby" she cried softly as he turned his head to look at the infant pressed against her chest, small, delicate and yet while most cried and wailed, this one remained silent even in the presence of a stranger. With an old blanket tucked neatly around the small baby and her arm holding it closely to provide additional heat and comfort, this one remained still, his lips blue and his body frozen...this one was probably long gone. "Please" she cried, "I can't loss him...not him..." she begged and despite himself, he reached into his pocket, handing her the wrinkled bills and the few coins he had. She smiled as she thanked him, and as she walked away he heard her whisper "you're going to be fine now love...they will save you". This truly was a living hell.

This village was broken, the people were shattered to pieces, the building were rotting and the mold seemed to be the only thing capable of growing here, and yet from all the broken buildings, the deserted streets and the rotten places in this village, his destination was the worst. He stood as drops of rain started to fall around him and looked at the building in front of him. Like every other building, this one too seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, as if the slightest wind will simply blow it away, the few windows it seemed to have were all shattered, the mold grew wild to the point where it seemed to replace the bricks that once made this building stand tall, graffiti covered every inch of the building that wasn't yet broken to pieces or falling apart and in the middle of all of this the broken neon sign shone a faint pink light illuminating the horrors of the wall behind it. Only five lettered were still lit, two have already fallen long ago and the rest simply stopped working at some point of time and yet most here knew the name of this place. The Drunken Duck, the best place for the most broken of all to be found in. This was the place you would reach once hitting rock bottom, once your faith is long lost, your body is poisoned to the bones and your mind plays the nightmares of the past to you. This was where you were once your heart broke to small pieces and the light that used to shine your way out to reality has disappeared from your sight...this was where you went when your very soul was crying. In the middle of the darkened room, with the smoke and the filth scattered in the air, there was no judgment, no need for words or for forgiveness in the air and no nothing. This was the place one goes to when he needed to forget who he was and what he has become...and this is where she was waiting for him.

He didn't need to see her to know that she was already there, nor did he need to hear her voice, all he needed was to see the people around him as he entered the broken place. Their eyes fixated on the stage, the alcohol left forgotten on the tables and the tears and pain in their eyes glittering in the darkness of this hell hole. He turned his head towards the stage, towards the person who have captured the attention of these men and women who had already given up and lost their faith; he turned his gaze towards her...towards the only one who managed to break the broken hearts of these broken people and render grown men to tears with nothing but her voice. He turned his head and he looked at her.

He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he listened to her angelic voice singing the saddest tone he ever heard. Sometimes he loved to hear her sing; he could close his eyes and listen to nothing but the soft melody of her voice for hours, years even. Sometimes he would listen to her voice, to the sad song only she could sing with such grace and he would remember a simpler time, a time when everything was better, when everything made sense and he felt truly happy. And then sometimes, when he listened to this sweet, intoxicating melody he would remember the reason for his nightmares and the reason for her song. He would close his eyes and he would see her as she was back then, with the blood and the tears, and the sadness...and he would remember that this sweet, intoxicating melody coming from her delicate lips is the sound of her shattered heart, of his shattered heart and of every other men and women who have experienced this kind of pain. He would close his eyes and lean against the wall with his arms crossed like he always does, and he would remember that this meant she was still broken, still pained and for some reason this alone would be enough to break him to pieces.

"Sasuke" she says with the same angelic voice as she spots him in the crowd of weeping men and women. At that moment, as she leaves the microphone behind and steps off of the dim lighted stage in order to greet him, at that moment he is unable to suppress the smile from spreading on his face, at that moment she is truly his. "Where did you go?" she asks him, gently wiping the dirt and mud from his clothes and he can't help but reach out his hand and gently entangle it in her beautiful hair, gently caressing the nap of her neck as she shudders at the touch. "I woke up alone and for a moment I thought something happened to you" she confesses, closing her eyes at the touch of his hand, "I was scared..." she whispers softly. And without thinking his head is already bending down and his lips find her lips as his mind is filled with this feeling of her touch. The kiss is soft, tender even, and so very unlike how it used to be in the past and it makes his heart ache for her like it never ached before. But he always was a possessive men, in his mind she belongs to him and him alone, and yet he knows that no matter how much time they spend together, no matter if he ever let her know of his feelings or keep them hidden inside, no matter how much he tries to make her completely his...her heart will always belong to another and that thought alone is much more painful than it should be.

He knows not to be too greedy; he can never have both her body and her heart, so he settles for one. And even though his heart is begging him to be greedy, to take everything that is her and make it his, to imprint both her body and heart with everything that he was and make her return these feelings he was just getting to know for the first time. Even though his heart is yelling for him to do something, anything, to make her completely his, he knows better than to try; because one out of two, as insignificant as this one is compared to the other, is still better than nothing. So he settles for one, and at night as she is lying naked in his arms, weeping from yet another nightmare of that time so long ago, he wishes for the oblivion to take him...for anything to make him not feel the pain that pierces through him at the sight of her tears.

oO Two years earlier Oo

_~Hinata~_

She ducked quickly as another kunai flew right above her head, with a twist of her body she pierce the heart of another enemy, or was it an ally this time...she couldn't even tell them apart nowadays, she didn't even have the time to try. When the war started, they were told that this will end quickly, that this war was for the good of the people, that it will save lives. Four months later, the war was still all around them; they have saved a few and lost hundreds in the process and all for a cause they couldn't even remember anymore. If asked, most would probably say they don't remember who or what even started it, all they knew was that they needed to fight in order to survive, in order to win a battle that wasn't their own. She dodge another fist and another weapon thrown her way as she looks at the child in front of her curse loudly that he missed his target, and as her kunai cuts his throat all she can think about is how this child falling at her feet reminds her of her little sister. How young they were when it all began; young and innocent they are thrown into a war they don't even understand, they are forced to leave the toys, the honesty, the childish love and the innocence they had behind, they are given a weapon and sent to the field to die. And most _will_ die; they are inexperienced, they are afraid to hurt others, afraid to get hurt and in the process they either become to rush or they freeze, but either way...most won't make it through the war alive. Her sister, her innocent, talented, beloved little sister who truly believed nothing could hurt her was gone. She could still feel her blood dripping down her arms as she held her smaller body close to her, whispering that she did well, that everything will be fine now...that she will not die. Her sister died in her arms; years of mock rivalry were turned to nothing but a petty fight as the light in her eyes seemed to grow dimmer until it disappeared altogether. Her sister was dead now, her cousin was still fighting somewhere, her father...she wasn't even sure where he was or if he was even still alive and as for the rest of her family, she didn't really care how they were doing. With her father gone, her sister dead and her cousin barely surviving another wave, she had already lost her family.

The war between two countries brought hell upon them as more and more joined the dispute. And the worst thing about this war was the confusion, you find yourself rising your weapon at an unknown enemy only to find out, too late, that he was your friend, your father, your mother or even your spouse. Nothing could have prepared them for this havoc and destruction. Years of training became nothing; there was no place to run to, no time to prepare for the fight and no use to think about your next move. You are put against hundreds of enemies, with your friends fighting hundreds more somewhere beyond your sight, you are alone with no one to rely on and you simply fight in order for the fighting to stop. She turns quickly as some sort of weapon she has never seen before is thrown her way and a girl about her age is standing in front of her. The thoughts in her head are confused, unfocused; for a moment she looks at the girl in front of her and the only thought in her mind is that maybe after all of this mess, after all the blood, the bodies and the death that they are forced to live through every day now, maybe at this age they were already considered to be adults. Another weapon thrown her way bring her out of her daze, she is about to strike when she feels it, sharp and painful and she falls to her knees. She looks down at the blood; her own blood is now mixed with the blood of her enemies. So much blood is pouring out, that for a second she is shocked that she still has so much left after fighting for so long.

The girl in front of her falls face first into the dirt, a sharp needle sticking from her back and a long sword pierce through her chest before being pulled back out, the man holding the now blood soaked weapon smirks as he wipes the blood on the cloths of the now deceased girl and two more men come to stand by his side. She is already so tired, all she truly want is to sleep now, just let her eyes shut close and rest for a few hours but she needs to stand up, she needs to stand up and fight because that is all she was ever taught to do. Slowly she manages to stand on both feet, holding her weapon with unsteady hands as they laugh at her afford. She is tired, she is hurt and her sight is already beginning to blur but she refuse to go down without a fight. Desperately, blindly, she launches forward; stabbing and slashing at everything and everyone she sees, and when her weapon falls to the ground she use her hands, legs and teeth; she scratches, punches, bites and kicks to get out of their hold, out of this mass of limbs they have become. She can feel the pain again, sharp and piercing as another bloody wound is added to her torso and she falls to her knees once again.

"Just leave her alone Kou...she's dead anyway" one of the men says with a soft sigh.

"Yeah Kou, Aki's poison will have her dead in less than two hours...let's go I'm bored" the other say and an ice-cold wave of realization hits her. "I wonder about that" the third man, Kou, says with another smirk on his face. "Doesn't she look simply delicious?" he asks, bending down only to yank her up to his eye level by the hair. "Won't you have some fun with us before you die sweetheart?" he asks with another smirk which seems to awaken the beast in the other two as they turn around with new found interest. "I promise we will make your last moments on this earth real good" he smirks again before bringing her face to his; his lips smash hard on her and the nausea becomes unbearable. She bites hard and for a second he drops her to the ground, taking a step away from her as he wipes the blood from his torn lip. "Bitch" he curses before bringing his hand down to slap her. He continues to kick, slap and punch her with the same smirk on his face as the others watch with amusement. The beating stops after a while and with her body bruised and sour, and her blood still dripping from the wounds they have inflicted on her, she still hope that they will all stop here and now; that they will leave her to die or even kill her themselves...anything is better than the other option. But as he looks at her with lust in his eyes, his belt hits the ground with a soft thump and his hands tear open her shirt and pants, she knows that her wish will not come true. She wants to run, to fight, to do anything in order to leave this place, to not be there at that moment with these men, but her body is weak from the poison and the loss of blood. His tongue in inside her mouth again, tasting and exploring every inch of her as his hands roam over her body. Soon after, his friends join, touching and nibbling at her skin as they rip the rest of her undergarments off of her. Her head is spinning now, her sight is blurry and her stomach is sick, and for the first time in her life she prays for the death of another. She prays...and just as her prey is made and the words orbit around in her head, three bodies fall to the ground around her. She was saved...she was saved from these beasts and yet she will still die suffering. The poison was already inside her, running through her veins and destroying her from the inside. She was poisoned, which means she is already as good as dead...there was no place in the hospital for those who were poisoned, no one will save her from death now.

Somewhere in her heart she is happy, happy that it's about to be over, happy that she will never have to feel the cold steel of the weapon in her hand pierce through flash, or the blood of another dripping down her arm; she will never again see their eyes begging for a second chance, begging to stay alive seconds before her weapon hits. This will be the end for her, the end of her life, the end of her struggle and finally, this will be the end of the nightmares; the end of their screams ringing in her head, of their tears and loss...finally, this will be the end. The last thing she remembers as her body drops to the ground is a face long lost and yet not forgotten yet, and for some reason she is happy that he is still alive. And as her eyes shut close and the darkness takes over her for the last time, she can't help but welcome the oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2 - Cruelty

**Summary:** A war breaks down and the world changes, but a change is not always better and peace doesn't necessarily mean happiness. When loss, poverty, despair and corruption rule their hearts, can love even grow?

This is a story of the war and the days which follows, told from different points of view.

**Status:** ongoing.

**Word count: **2,772

**Disclaimer:** As usual…I **do not** (unfortunately...) own 'Naruto', or the characters in it, or anything associated with it. All I can say I own is (a lot of) free time and nothing to do with it =]

**A/N:** Well this is the second chapter, the first few chapters revolve around individual characters as an introduction of the past and the present which each character experienced. I hope you like it and I can reassure you that the connection between the characters will be told in future chapters. As always, you are more than welcome to comment on any typo\grammar mistake\dislike of the chapter and of course tell me if you liked it (I just love hearing compliments) so don't be shy ;)

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**Chapter 2 – ****Cruelty**

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_~Naruto~_

When he wakes up in the darkened room, he already knows that this is where is all ends for him. His last memory was of him, yelling for her to run away, to leave him and save herself because her safety comes first, because he still loved her…he always loved her.

When the war started no one could have imagined that it will last for so long. Five months have passed and the fighting only escalated; more dead bodies were now decorating the roads, more trees and forests were burnt by the fires, more depression washed over the nation, more poverty, more blood and more loss. The war now seemed as if it will last forever, until the last man or woman will fall and only then will they realize how redundant this whole thing was. When the war started her told her, moments before the first waves of enemies came, moments before the bloodshed began, he told her everything. He told her the extent of his love to her, leaving her before she could reply, before she could break his heart.

For five months he fought blindly, finishing one fight only to start another, fighting for his life and for the life of his loved ones. For five months he felt his weapon pierce through the skins of others and their weapons pierce through his skin. He felt their blood, hot against his bare skin, he saw the fear in their eyes, he felt their pain and yet he continued to fight. For five whole months, he fought without stop, without much rest and without giving up on the hope that this war will end. Deep inside of him the beast was smiling, savoring the smell and sight of the blood, enjoying each kill and waiting patiently for her chance to surface, for her chance to wreak havoc on these useless beings that he cherished so much. For five months he was fighting the enemies outside while making sure the enemy inside remains in place. But after five months, he was already so tired of fighting.

Images of that day flashed through his mind. Her emerald eyes shining brightly, her face illuminated by the light of the moonlight and her body shaking with fear and anxiety as he held her close and whispered words of love in her ear, begged of her to be careful, to stay alive thought all this madness and live. For five months he fought without seeing her, fearful that he may have lost her already, that she may be hurt somewhere where he can't reach her, crying and begging him to come save her. For five months he prayed that she is still safe and after five months she was finally by his side, fighting her way to him with the same beauty and elegance only she possessed and he could feel his heart sing. For her own sake, for his sake and for the sake of keeping his hear and sanity intact, he had pushed her away, begged for her to run and waited for the enemy to find him and him alone.

And so, when he wakes up in that darkened room, alive, he is confused and yet he knows that he will not live to see her again. This will be the end and yet the happiness of knowing that she ran away, knowing that somewhere, away from their grasp, she is still safe is calming. As children, they are taught how to act in captivity, what to reveal when being tortured and what to keep hidden at the cost of their lives. They are each imprisoned and tortured for what feels like forever, they endure physical pain, mental pain and most break, and when they break down, the 'exercise' begins again from the start. The hits are harder and the hours are longer until the pain becomes unbearable. Again and again and again, this is done to them, until they succeed in hiding what needs to be hidden. So when the faceless figure of a man enters the room, the light blinding him and the hits begin to shower down on him, he remains silent, he is calm.

When captured, most untrained men and women will think of their past; of a better time, of their childhood, when the hardest choices they had were which person they liked and how to get that person to like them back. They remember their adolescence, their first crush, first love, first everything and they start to panic. They panic because once these memories are there, flashing through their eyes, once the faces of loved ones are looking at them and the love in their eyes is seen in the minds of these men and women, they realize that they will never see them again, they will never feel this love and they will never return back home to them. They realize this and the pain grows stronger. They are trained to ignore this pain, to focus on the physical pain instead of the emotional one and to hide the suffering. They are trained not to let these emotions rule over them and for god knows how long, he manages to do so. Despite the hits, the illusions and the unbearable pain, he is not yet broken down, not yet tamed. It feels like forever since he woke up in that room for the first time, since the beating started; every day they would hit, cut and bruise him and every night they would heal him only to torture him again in the next day and he is fine. He locks himself in his own mind, fighting the beast within while they continue with their useless efforts to break him.

The world is cruel. He knew that as a child hated for something he did not understand, he knew it as growing up in an environment which resented his entire being for a burden he never wished to carry, he knew it when this god forsaken war started and one after the other he had lost the ones he loved the most, and now once again he could feel this cruel world dig it's fangs into his throat. He is trained to go through these little torture games and yet when she is being dragged into the room, clothes torn and bruises covering every inch of her body; when she is thrown at the ground in front of him, drugged and hurt, and the man unbuckle his belt as the rage starts to swirl in his mind. As the faceless man runs his fingers through her dirtied pink hair, licking his lips like a child who have just received the present he wished for, the rage inside him grows stronger and the chains which binds him start to cut through his flesh and he knows that he lost the most important battle of all. He gave way to the beast in him, he had just unleashed hell upon earth; he knows that and yet as her body lays on the floor and his claws grip at the heart of that faceless man, he could care less about the rest of this cruel world he had learned to hate.

As he holds the body of his beloved in his hands and feels the beast slowly taking over, he knows that this is the end. With one last cry and one shed tear he let the beast take over his body as his mind slips back into darkness.

oO 15 months later Oo

_~Ray~_

It was cold; winter has already come to this god forsaken place, but then again winter seems to be the only season that ever reached this place. Snow covered every single tree top, every part of the ground and every part of the deserted forest. It was winter, but it was only winter in this god forsaken place. He took the cigarette to his mouth, thanking the gods for the heavenly feeling that seemed to wash over his body as the smoke made its' way to his lungs. He watched as the smoke slowly drifted away with the cold breeze, silently, agonizingly slow as it seemed to dissolve into thin air. He looked at the forest; white, naked and empty, and for brief moment he remembered how the silence felt before it all happened. In his younger days, before the war and everything it had brought upon, seeing this sight in front of him, seeing this cold, white, lonely, hollow forest would have made his mind wonder, would have made him question whether this was how hell felt like.

When the war started, they all entered hell. The fires burnt them, the smoke and tears blinded them, the weapons cut them and the loss brought them to their knees. They were thrown into hell's fire and they survived, they survived but at what cost? They lost their families, their loved ones and some even lost themselves in that endless fight.

At first it was just another war. It was painful, it was heartbreaking and it was unbelievably hard, but it was just a war, just a fight between two enemies. But then came the day they all still feared, the horrible, terrifying day that has left them all with nightmares, the day that was later named 'the day all hell broke free. The skies darkened, the air froze and for a moment the world stood still. But this stillness did not last long; a blinding light cut the skies in half and the terrifying scream was heard. It seemed as if from the depth of earth itself the fighting and bloodshed had awakened a mighty beast. For seven months they have fought the beast and after seven months, after seven months of hell, fire and death, the beast was defeated and peace was declared. In his younger days, looking at this still, cold forest, he would have associated this god forsaken place with hell, but now he knows better.

The sound of her scream was heard, bringing him back from his day dream and driving the few, almost non-existing living creatures on a mad run, away from this tortured voice. Unimaginable pain and suffering were carried out as the woman screamed again and for a moment, despite himself, despite the very nature of his being, he considered throwing everything away and running away alongside these poor, pathetic excuses of animals which reside in that horrible place. But won't run away, he remained standing, smoking his cigarette and enjoying the feeling of the poison of it slowly sipping into his body. Even if he knows that the poor woman being tortured was innocent, even when he knows all she ever did was fall in love with the wrong man, even if all she meant was to bind herself in marriage to her beloved and live happily ever after…even if he knows that much like him, her greatest sin was falling in love, even though he knows all this he will stay right there listening to her dying cry. Silently, he listened to the sound of her screams, to the faint sound of the metal hitting flesh, the sound of her gasping for air as her lungs give in with each hit and the sound of her begging to be freed, to return to the side of her beloved. He stood silently, looking at the serene, cold forest which lay in front of his and knowing full well that this poor woman will never leave this god forsaken forest.

As children they were told to never doubt, to never think and to obey blindly. 'You fight for your village and you die for your village' this is the only principle they must live to fulfill. This is their purpose, this is their destiny and this is everything they grow to believe. When the black ink dries over the pages of the scroll and the orders are given, they are no longer individuals, they are no longer human beings...they are weapons. Cold, trained, silent and deadly weapons; they are no longer entitled to an opinion, no longer allowed to listen to their hearts and souls which screamed for them to stop, to their body which begged to run away, to desert it all...they become the strong, proud, undefeatable weapon of their village.

So they obey. They obey, ignoring the pain that numbed their chest, ignoring the blood that stained their hands, the screamed that hunted their dreams, the emptiness that filled their eyes, the regret that ate away at their hearts and the self loathing which contaminated their souls. They obeyed and with each mission, with each kill, each sacrifice they made, each friend they lost and each innocent soul they had taken, they sacrificed their hearts for a fake concept of peace...for a lie. And yet, that alone did not help him rid himself from feeling the same unwelcomed pinch of regret in the depth of his heart, feeling the sadness, remorse and self loathing which contaminated his very core with each soul they took.

The sound of her scream was heard again, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked at the sky, watching for only a second at the way the birds were fleeting from the top of every nearby tree, alarmed by the screams that slowly quieted down to nothing more than pained whimpers.

'They are moving' the voice in his earpiece brought his attention back to his current mission. With a small, broken smile and a flick of his hand, he threw away the cigarette, putting on the ANBU mask he stole off of one of their attackers all those weeks ago, ignoring the stench of blood that came with it. "Good" he said softly, "we will meet you in the safe house".

He steps into the room quietly, his face hidden behind the mask, his presence concealed and his every move trained to go unnoticed, and yet she noticed him immediately, like she always does. Ice-cold blue eyes open up to greet his arrival before quickly turning back towards the body lying on the floor and once again he was taken aback by his broken team leader. Her long hair which used to shine in a brilliant golden hue is tied neatly, dirtied by the blood of the nameless woman. Her eyes cold, emotionless, her small body covered in blood and yet she still carried herself with the same elegance and beauty as she always did. Beautiful, elegant and utterly lethal, she looked at the body of the woman, of the target, and in all the blood, the gore and the stench of death which filled the small room, she seemed unaffected by the horror that she had inflicted.

"It's time to go" he says quietly and once again her ice-cold eyes are directed his way. Without saying a word, she let the chains that bound the body in place loose, positioning the body as instructed to display the pain and suffering she went through and collecting her possessions from the floor. Without looking behind, without any sign of remorse, she runs and he follows. From her behavior, most will assume that she is heartless, that be it the deaths that surrounded her or the losses that she suffered, she had somehow lost the remaining bit of humanity that she once possessed. From her work, most will assume that her heart was as black as coal, absent of any hint of light and colder than ice. From looking at her straight back and her elegant movement, from hearing the silence and seeing the corpse of what used to be their target, their innocent, pitiful target which was laid naked and tormented, awaiting to be displayed to their enemies, awaiting to carry a warning to all others; from that alone, most will assume that she is already dead inside, hollowed, but he knew. He was by her side for too long not to notice the small changes, the way her eyes would water, her body would shake silently and her hand would clench the small necklace. He knew that she was far from unaffected, far from cold and very much far from feeling no remorse. His dear, beloved, broken wife, hanging onto a memory of the love she harbored for the one she lost, hanging onto a ghost while she carried the sins she has committed with each passing day. He looked at the woman he adored, the object of his undying affection and love, and once again he is reminded of the cruelty of this world and the events which has led her to him.


	3. Chapter 3 - Sins And Betrayal

**Summary:** A war breaks down and the world changes, but a change is not always better and peace doesn't necessarily mean happiness. When loss, poverty, despair and corruption rule their hearts, can love even grow?

This is a story of the war and the days which follows, told from different points of view.

**Status:** ongoing.

**Word count: **3,102

**Disclaimer:** As usual…I **do not** (unfortunately...) own 'Naruto', or the characters in it, or anything associated with it. All I can say I own is (a lot of) free time and nothing to do with it =]

**A/N: **First of all, I wanted to thank everyone that reviewed the story. Thank you so much for it, I love reading your reviews.

Sorry for the late update...I just returned from a vacation abroad and I couldn't really write there. But on the other side, it got me pretty motivated to finish this so that's nice.

Anyways, the third chapter is now done and all the main characters introduction is finished so from now on the story can really start to develop. I'm not going to have a lot of time to write until two weeks from now...I have to study for a test (T.T) - but I'll try to pick up the pace after it's done.

Read and review if you want...I'll love to hear from you.

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**Chapter 3 – Sins And Betrayal**

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_~Ino~_

The first thing she notices is the smell. A strong scent of blood which seemed to fill the entire room and made her cringe as it reached her nose. It made her slow down her frantic run; hesitate before taking the next few steps that were needed in order to reach the door in front of her. The possibility of finding her dead body behind that door scars her beyond words, it freezes her entire being as she simply stands there staring at the closed door. She tries to harden her heart for the blow that may come, to prepare herself for whatever may lay inside that room. With a deep breath she closes the short distance between her and the wretched door, reaching out to touch the door handle she can feel the cold metal in her hand as she pushes it down. She tries to harden her heart but for some reason she can still feel the fast rhythm as the beats grow frantic with each passing second. She is scared.

The stench inside is sickening, permeating the room and making her flinch once more. Her body is still and her breath is caught in her chest as she observes the scenery which lay in front of her. Blood cover the walls and the floors of the small room, some already dried but most still fresh, still spilling slowly to whichever direction. Scratch marks fill the entire room, deep and bloody as if they were made by some sort of beast. Bodies litter the floors, limb torn, throats cut, and chests ripped open.

Slowly she takes it all in. Her eyes trace the walls, the scratches, the bodies and the blood until she finally sees it and her heart breaks. In the middle of the room, on a small metal chair painted with blood, she sees her back hunched over and shaking. The metal chains which used to bind her were now dangled all the way to the floor, making the faintest noise as they moved softly along with her shaking body. Her hair is soaked with blood, her clothes are torn to pieces and her body is filled with cuts.

She stands there for what feels like eternity, just looking at the person sitting in front of her, wishing that this person was just another person, just another stranger that fell victim to some savage, just another mistake she has made or even another dead end. Anything will be fine as long as it wasn't her.

But it is her…she can tell.

When she finally gathers the courage to move, she can hear her steps echo in the small room as the figure in front of her flinches in the most heartbreaking way. One step, two steps, three steps and suddenly her back straighten up and her head turns. Something falls from her hands, something round.

She can feel the fear sipping in again. Her hands fall to the sides of her body, her mind is in chaos, her heart frantic and she has the sudden urge to scream as she stars into emerald eyes. She stands there and she wishes once again that this is nothing but another nightmare.

She is scared.

oO 9 months later Oo

It's raining outside. She looked at the drops of water as they made their way to the ground, a thin fabric keeping her and the crowd that had gathered there from being drowned by it. The voice of the man standing on the stage with his back turned to her is swallowed by the sound of the drops; his words carry the same haughtiness as always as he carries on with his speech.

'We will mourn our fallen comrades, our family members, our friends and our loved ones ' his voice is void of any real human emotions, 'and we will continue to celebrate the living, because that is what they would have wished for. . In their name, we will work together to build a better place' he continues, his voice stronger as the crowd seems elated by his words, by his lies. The same speech, the same words and the same old bullshit they tried to feed them each time. As hard as it was, as painful and heartbreaking as it was, for them it was just another war won, another fight lost, another weapon wielding child playing soldier sent, another order written in black ink, another miss, another dead body littering the ground, another cover up and another speech made for the sake of politics, for the sake of calming the mass of civilians who felt broken and hurt. For them, this war was over the second the last weapon hit the ground; despite the losses, despite everything they have been through and everything they have sacrificed, for them it was already over. The war was won and peace was regained, but did the end justify the means? Will the sins disappear now that the act is done? Will the losses ever be forgotten? Will they ever be forgiven for their crimes?

She can see the same emerald eyes staring holes into her soul, she sees the blood and the scratches on her face and she can see the smile on her lips just before her body hit the ground. The war may be over for them, but the dead will not be brought back by some miracle, the sins will not be written off as nothing and they will not be forgiven for their crimes. She will never be forgiven for what she has done that day.

'A grave loss', the man on the stage says in a low voice, his features seem to portray the loss but his eyes are still smiling. A 'tragedy' he calls it despite the fact that everyone already knows that he could care less. This was bound to happen, this was what they were fated to do; the strong will live while the weak will die and be left to rot at the side of the road.

She looks at the rain that only seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment, at the way the drops slowly fell from the fabric above them, at the faceless, nameless crowd of people standing and eating up his words as he continued to preach about their responsibility, their obligation to the new world, to themselves. She stares at his back, covered in all black and still preaching about the loss of another soul and how it should give them hope for a better future, how it should bring them together, unite them in common grief. It made her sick. His words, their admiring eyes, it all made her sick to her stomach.

Name after name, the man reads from the list of people fallen, reciting their name, heritage, date of birth and the date in which they have deceased. Name after name, he recite from his list as deafening silence takes over the crowd. Her eyes drift back to the crowd, to the woman falling to her knees as the name of her daughter is said, to the man standing in the rain with his eyes turned up towards the darkened skies and the tears falling down his face as the name of his wife is said, to the children crying into the chest of their father when the name of their mother is said, to the child sitting behind the crowd and looking at his own shaking hands with hatred, fear and tears in his eyes when the name of the one he was forced to kill, forced to leave behind despite loving is said and his heart is breaking all over again. She can see them all, she can see their suffering, she can understand their pain and she can feel their hatred and self loathing because she feels it too. They have all suffered, they all lost people dear to them, they all felt the pain of broken bones and the suffering of their broken hearts, they all sinned and they were all punished. Every one of them left heartbroken from this war, every one of them felt the regret and yet here they were, every one of them, quietly listening to the empty words of an empty man trying to appease them by orchestrating this show.

The war lasted 17 months; 17 months in which they were forced to live these endless nightmares of blood, pain, fatigue, loss and uncontrolled hatred. 17 months in which they were forced to hunt the enemy down, to slaughter whoever came their way. 17 months in which women lost their husbands, men lost their wives, mothers lost their child and children lost their parents. 17 months and all they had to show for it was a never ending list of sins they have committed in behalf of the peace and a pile of dead bodies. A simple gesture, an idea, and the whole world rose to the occasion, one simple act which caused a ripple effect. And when the war finally ended, the world was not the same as it was before.

She will always remember the beginning of the war, they all will. At first, it was quiet, well as quiet as it can get when one is standing at the entrance of hell; wave after wave, the enemy strikes came and they fought them back, they defended the village with the hope that the war will end soon. Slowly, more regions, countries and nations joined in and the fighting only escalated. From a small fight between two countries, it grew to a full size war and the whole world seemed to be a part of it. As time passed and lives were taken, the idea of peace seemed to waver and the hatred and fear took its place.

They were taught to obey orders, they were taught to do as they are told in order to complete their mission, to protect their home and the lives of their loved ones. They were taught to fight when ordered and to run when ordered to, sometimes leaving teammates, friends or loved ones behind; to desert everything they ever believed in and everyone they ever loved for the sake of the mission, for the sake of the so called greater good.

But like everything in this world, like every rule, every law, every idea and every god damn thing in this god damned world, there are those who will oppose. There are those who will stand up and say 'I refuse to act as you dictated', 'I refuse to follow your rules, your so called laws, simply because you ordered me to', 'I refuse to sit by and watch this one die'. They stand their ground and they fight, not a person, not a village, not a ruler but an idea; they fight against the idea that has conjured the rule, they fight against what they honestly can't understand and what they are incapable of doing, they fight for their loved ones and the fight for themselves. They fight…and most of the times, they lose their fight; they fall and the idea which they fought against grows bigger, stronger until no one dares to fight against it anymore.

Blinded from rage, her heart frozen from fear and regret, and her body moving on its own, she continued to fight, and when the ninth month of the war was coming to an end and the idea of peace was completely wiped from their minds, some tuned to religion. They prayed to a God that probably didn't even listen, they pleaded for the heavens to stop this endless bloodshed, to save them from this nightmare and unfortunately for them, the answer to their plea was heard in the form of a mighty scream. That day, on the tenth month of the war, that single, most important day of the war was later known as 'the day all hell broke free'. The skies split in half, the sun turned red and the earth itself stood still as the blood freezing scream of the beast was heard. From the depth of hell itself, they have awakened a beast and that beast was after their blood.

"And now" the man speaks again, his voice strong and as he straightens his back, "we welcome back our heroes, each one of these brave men and women had contributed in obtaining the peace we now have".

She was not innocent and she was far from naive, she accepted the fact that the line of work she had chosen for herself, the profession she took pride in doing was a sinful one. She knew that the road they walked down on was one filled with blood and pain. Every enemy killed for the purpose of protecting the village, for completing the mission assigned to them, was another black stain on their soul. Every man, woman or child they had to 'eliminate', was another face hunting their dreams, every weapon which pierces through the body of their so called targets, the bodies of the human beings they were sent to hunt down, also pierced through their hearts and every single person they ever hurt was another sin added to the list of sins they have committed against humanity. They were no heroes, no saints and no protectors; they were sinners, killers, who simply fought to survive. They were nothing but humans who lost themselves in the sea of blood that was the war. Strong and yet pathetic, looked up to and yet more broken than most, admired and yet self loathing…they were nothing but shells of the human being they once were.

They stand and the crowd cheers. Another side show of this all charade, another means to appease the crowd, to make them forget the reason the war even started and instead focus on the so called heroic people who helped end it. Another distraction trying to make them forget, make them fear the notion of resistance and the idea once again grows. She looks at the crowd and for a second she can see her face as it was that day. She feels sick again. All she wants now is to forget the war ever happened, to forget her sins, to forget her betrayal and drown herself in the bitter oblivion that could only be found in the bottom of the bottle. If only it was as simple as that.

oO 3 months earlier Oo

_~Yuki~_

_"I'm so sorry" the voice is quiet and chocked as the hands suddenly touch her face gently. "I should have come earlier" she can almost hear the tears falling as the heartbroken sobs leave the mysterious person she can't even see. She is blind, she always was blind and ever since she could remember herself it never bothered her that much, the absence of her sight meant very little to her but for some reason her inability to see this person sobbing and begging for her forgiveness has always managed to break her heart. _

_It's the same dream, the same nightmare she had every night. She should be used to it by now, she knows what is about to come, she knows it will end the same way it always ends and she knows that despite her knowing, she will still wake up in tears over this. She will feel the loss, the pain and the shivering of her body and she will miss the voice which softly called for her, the hands which gently touched her and the smile that used to greet her. She would wake up missing a sight of a person she has never met before, a sight which she could have never seen in her blinded state, a sight which probably never existed anywhere but inside her mind. _

_"It's too late" she finds herself saying, her own voice breaking as something falls from her hands, making no sound as it hits the floor. "I killed him…they made me kill him" she cries. She can feel the wetness and taste the bitterness of her own tears as they fall down her face. "It's free now…we released it…it's the end" she sobs and the gentle arms of the stranger are wrapped securely around her as she is brought into the warm embrace. She is breaking down as she feels the person shaking in silent sobs. _

_"I'm sorry" the voice says again, heartbroken and pained. "I should have protected you…I should have been here to save you" the voice says quietly, gently wiping the tears from her eyes. "It hurts" she cries, "please…" she begs quietly "it hurts"._

_"I know baby" the voice says quietly, whispering the words between the sobs and the tears. "I'm so sorry for this" she can feel the hands on her face again and she immediately knows what is about to happen, she will wake up soon. She will wake up feeling the same pain, the same confusion and the same regret she always felt. "You should just sleep baby" the voice says gently and she can feel her head throbbing with pain, "sleep and forget about everything…I will protect you now."_

_"It's not your fault" the voice whispers, "they made you do this but everything will be alright. I promise. I will save him, so you just sleep now and tomorrow, when you wake up, everything will be okay so you just need to be happy". She can feel electricity shooting through her but for some reason she is smiling despite the pain. "Forget about your sins and be happy" the voice speaks quietly as if growing further away from her._

She wakes up feeling as if she was thrown down from the highest mountain and fell into her bed. She hated these dreams, they always left her feeling as if something was missing, as if she was somehow incomplete now, as if she lost something and yet at the same time it made her afraid of ever finding out what that missing piece was.

It was always too real for comfort. Sometimes she would dream of this person, sometimes she would dream she was all alone, sometimes she felt the comfort of the words spoken to her while other times she would feel her own flesh ripping under her finger tips, but it was always too real, too sad and way too painful. She hated it.

Pushing the thoughts away, she got up from bed and walked out of her room towards the bathroom. This was her first day in the new school and she did not want to go looking like she's just seen a freaking ghost.


End file.
