Naruto 1. Prologue

Kana scurried down the hall with her eyes on the floor instead of looking where she was going. Suddenly it was if she hit a wall which she promptly bounced off of and hit the floor with a dreadful thud. However, this wall made a definitive 'oof' sound and had feet which now filled her line of vision as she sat on the floor in front of them. Looking up from the highly polished loafers to the face of the person that belonged to the feet, she gulped to see the intense black eyes and unsmiling lips of Sasuke Uchiha. He was like a prince in the school and was treated as such. The quiet and often gloomy teen heart throb even had his own cult following of annoying fan girls much to his dismay.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," he spoke softly as if she were a mouse he might frighten away.

"It's okay. No one ever does," Kana replied self-consciously, shoving a stray lock of shoulder length russet-brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes glued themselves to the hand that was outstretched to her. She was sure she looked as clumsy as a baby giraffe while attempting to get up from the floor even with his help. It was a bit difficult to keep hold of her books and his hand, all without showing the color and style of her underwear to everyone in the hallway as she attempted to push down her short navy blue plaid uniform skirt.

"You know that's against school rules," he commented upon seeing the hoop and stud earrings piercing the cartilage at the top curve of her ear after she pushed her hair behind it a second time.

Kana raised her eyes to his, seeing a glint of amusement in their depths as a smile tugged at the corners of his down turned lips. She brushed her fingers through her hair to cover her piercings that she usually kept hidden. If she had the tiniest bit of boldness in her she would remind him that the tattoo on the back of his neck that sometimes showed through his white school shirt was against the rules as well. But she did not. She did not possess a smidgen of flirtatious sarcasm.

"Sasuke!" a slightly nasally voice echoed down the hallway.

"Damn," he grumbled knowing that his number one fangirl, Sakura Hurano had spotted him. "Well, it was nice running into you... "

"Kana," she supplied when he hesitated for her to fill in the blank. The dry humor of his statement was lost on her due to her racing heart almost deafening her.

"Kana," he repeated, giving into the smile but only slightly. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," she said, turning to watch him hurry away as the fan club headed up by Sakura and Ino approached.

"Move it loser," Sakura snapped, pushing the human obstacle in her way into the wall.

"Ouch!" Kana gasped when her nose smacked the hard surface. She dropped her book which fell on her toe causing her to cry out again.

"Stupid girl," Ino tittered as she walked past.

Kana hugged the wall to keep from being trampled while the rest of the chattering, giggling herd passed. After straightening her skirt and matching tie at the neck of her wrinkled white shirt, she bent down to pick up her book. A large hand slapped her behind, sending a stinging sensation through her butt cheek that caused her to pop up with a yelp. She wished she could be the first person to die of embarrassment as her eyes looked into the unique deep purple eyes of Hidan, the school pervert.

"Looking good, sweet cheeks," he cackled giving her a lascivious once over from head to toe.

"Come on, idiot, let's go," Kakuzu snorted, snatching his friend by the arm. After regarding her with a distinctly disapproving glance, he said, "You don't want that anyway. Too ugly."

_Who in the hell are you calling ugly? _Kana wanted to shout back. Kakuzu could break a mirror by staring into it too long. The boy had stringy shoulder length black hair, odd milky green eyes, and horrible, disfiguring scars on his face. Who was he to disparage anyone's looks? Hugging her book to her chest, she fought back tears as another typical day of high school began.

~...~

_Loser. Stupid. Ugly. _Those were only a few of the insulting names Kana was called on a daily basis by the popular people and those in high social standing at the school. After being shoved, pinched, slapped, and kicked by 'accident' several times that day, she was hiding in the bathroom until everyone left the building. She had been ridiculed and abused enough for one day. It was her greatest desire to avoid anymore pain, physical or mental, today. Bitter tears silently streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. Every day was the same; full of humiliation and physical torture. She had been at this awful school for six months and no one talked to her except to mock her. The tears flowed more profusely causing her to blindly stumble out of the stall where she had been taking refuge.

Kana flung her back pack over her shoulder as she walked out of the girls' restroom. A shiver ran through her body as she stepped out into the vacant hallway to make the long walk to the front doors after leaving her temporary safe haven. There was no real rush to go home since she would be arriving to an empty apartment because her mother was away on business. Emptiness seemed to be a constant part of her life. Glancing around the creepy darkened hallway, her steps became rushed to escape the desolation around her because it was like a mirror for the emptiness inside of her. The sun was setting and the last orange rays of the day lit her way home. Pausing at the end of the deserted alley that was final part of her journey home, she sighed. She hated this alley. This backstreet between the rows of apartment houses always freaked her out. Tall wooden privacy fences lined the back entrances to the apartment complexes. Trash cans, extraneous junk, and miscellaneous papers were strewn among the patches of tall dead grass against the fences. Cats and dogs, mostly strays, inhabited the alleyway and always scared the hell out of her when they suddenly appeared. But of course most things frightened her. Especially people; particularly the ones at her school.

"Hey, you!" a familiar and unwelcome voice rang out in the alley.

"It can't be. Did they follow me?" Kana asked herself, refusing to turn around. Instead, she walked faster to make it to the gate leading to her apartment building.

"Hey, loser!" the unmistakable voice Ino Yamanaka yelled.

"Are you deaf and stupid?" Sakura shrieked. "We want to talk to you!"

_What could they possibly have to say to me other than something mean and cruel?, _Kana wondered, ignoring them and continuing on her way.

"Stop, you moron! What the hell is wrong with you?" the pink haired girl demanded, running to stand in front of her to block her progress.

Kana skidded to a stop to avoid bumping into the girl. She side-stepped to walk around her nemesis when a set of bony but strong fingers clamped down on her shoulder and spun her around. Her hazel colored eyes met the sapphire blue eyes of the blonde who had a decidedly more sensuous look to her than her partner in crime. She nervously clutched the straps to her backpack wishing the two girls would just go away.

"We saw you touch Sasuke today. Did you really think we would let you get away with that?" Sakura demanded, coming around her to stand nose to nose with Kana.

"I accidentally bumped into him. That's all. If you'll excuse me..." she muttered, whirling back around to continue on her way home. Once more, the pink haired girl moved to stop her from proceeding to the gate that was so close.

"I will not excuse you," the self-proclaimed watchdog of Sasuke growled, slapping her chosen victim on the cheek. "Stay away from him."

"I believe he's more than capable of taking care of himself and doesn't need you to fight his battles for him," Kana snapped, surprising herself with the sudden burst of bravery.

"What did you say?" Ino shrieked, slapping her other cheek.

"Nothing. I - " She raised her arms to shield her face as both girls drew back their fists. She grunted and lurched forward when their fists slammed into her belly. Obviously not satisfied that she had not hit her knees, they quickly punched her again in the stomach.

Kana dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around her aching middle. This left her face unshielded and they immediately took advantage of that fact. Stunned and heaving for air, she endured punch after punch to her face. They had attacked her unfairly and completely without provocation, but of course that had never stopped them from attacking anyone before. She was not their first victim, and she was sure she would not be their last. Until today she had been able to stay under their radar, purposely avoiding them to keep from catching their attention. Her unfortunate run in with the chosen object of their desire had inadvertently put her in their sights. Falling to her side, she curled into a ball in an attempt to cover both her face and her abdomen. This only prompted them to start kicking her in the back and head. Releasing a scream of pain seemed to spur them on, but she screamed again anyway in hopes some nosy neighbor would come out to investigate.

"Hey! What's going on out there?" a women screeched from somewhere.

"Let's go!" Ino hissed when the street lights popped on. Their parents would be mortified if they had to come pick them up at the police station.

"You're lucky this time you worthless piece of trash," Sakura growled, delivering one last punishing kick to her head. "Stay the hell away from Sasuke. You're not fit to breathe the same air as him much less touch him."

Kana stayed rolled into the fetal position until she was sure the two bullies were gone. Groaning as she unfolded her bloodied aching body, she gradually forced herself to her feet. Dragging herself into the apartment, she dumped her back pack at the door. Shedding clothes as she went, she prepared to take a shower. She was dirty, bloody, and bruised. The soap and water would wash away most of the physical damage and time would take care of the rest. Even time, however, would not take care of the emotional toll the beating had taken on her.

~...~

Kana stayed home from school the next two days and thankfully the weekend followed after that. On Sunday she decided to go for a walk to get out of the apartment. The four walls seemed to be closing in on her after hiding away for three days without moving from her bed. Aimlessly strolling around, she found herself at the park around sunset. Since all of the children had gone home for the day, she perched on top of the jungle gym to watch the sunset. Watching the golden sun sinking from the red sky filled her with an unexplainable sense of peace that she had not felt in a long time.

"Are you content being alone or do you mind having company?" a low, distinctly male voice inquired.

Kana jerked her head toward the unexpected sound to see Sasuke standing below her, leaning against the metal bars. She watched in silence as he pulled the cigarette from between his lips to drop it in the sand before stomping it out. Her eyes met his when he looked up at her. Why was it he seemed to be the only person she could look in the eye? He always seemed to be so sad, so lonely - just like her. It was strange that he was one of the most popular boys in school yet he was always alone.

"Well?" The corners of his lips turned upwards slightly in a smile.

Kana felt her heart speed up until she was sure it would beat out of her chest. Did he ever smile for his groupies? She doubted it because he was always too busy running from them. Returning the soft smile, she waved her hand in an invitation for him to come up. Her eyes took in his full appearance from his shiny black hair to black combat boots. She had never seen him out of his school uniform before and she liked it. He was wearing a black t-shirt with numerous, very artistic renderings of skulls on it. A thick black leather band wrapped around his right wrist and a black braided leather necklace with a silver medallion attached to it hung around his neck.

"Where have you been?" he asked, positioning himself of the bars beside her. He allowed his legs clad in black jeans to hang down between the bars.

Kana was unable to speak due to shock. She could not believe that he of all people had noticed that she was not at school. Staring at the waning sun that was halfway hidden by the horizon, she tried to formulate an answer that would not sound pathetic.

"I just didn't feel like going. What's the point? It doesn't seem to be anything more than a popularity contest anyway," she muttered, glimpsing at him out of the corner of her eye. She saw that he was looking at her instead of the sunset which made it nearly impossible for her to breathe.

"Always a rebel at heart," he murmured thoughtfully, turning his eyes toward the disappearing sun.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" She turned her head to look at him just as the sun dropped below the border created by the earth.

"A good thing," he replied, returning her gaze.

Kana allowed her eyes to linger on his. The wind ruffled his gorgeous black hair moving it away from his eyes to give her a completely unobstructed view of his whole face. He was gorgeous, bordering on beautiful, but maintained a distinctly masculine appearance. Nervously pushing her hair behind her ear, she gave him an apologetic smile and climbed down. She watched as he gracefully dropped between the bars to the ground beneath. It was amusing to see him squirming through the bars to get out so he could stand in front of her.

"Can I at least walk you home?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Why?" she questioned him, suspicious of his motives.

"Why not?" He pulled one hand from his pocket, reaching out to her.

Kana tentatively took his hand, pleasantly surprised when he did not let it go. She prayed her palms weren't sweaty as he loosely gripped her hand while they walked. Her mind was racing with all kings of thoughts, including that she hoped to goodness his watch dogs were not in the vicinity. There was no way he could possibly be interested in her so was he must be attempting to play a joke on her, to laugh at her behind her back like everyone else.

"Why are so nice to me?" She tugged his hand gently, coming to a stop in the middle of the busy sidewalk. The people separated and flowed around them as if they were rocks in the middle of a stream.

"Because no one else is," he responded matter of factly, yanking her forward to get her moving.

"Are you sure that you're not doing this just to be mean?" she queried, allowing her cynicism to taint her voice.

"I'm dong this to protect you," he replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You don't know it yet, but you're someone very special to me. You'll regain your memories soon."

"What? What are you talking about?" She noticed they were moving faster and heading toward the less densely populated backstreets that led to her apartment.

"Haven't you ever wondered why you have such a strange name Kana Kaminaga? Have you ever thought about what it really means?" He pulled her around the corner of the next building, stopping so suddenly that she ran into his chest.

"No. Not really." Taking a step back from him, she rubbed her sore nose. Her eyes were captured by his that were studying her face.

"You're just as beautiful as you've always been," Sasuke murmured, pressing his palm against her cheek.

"What are you talking about?" Instinctively she jerked away from him, although it was not unpleasant having him touch her in such a familiar manner. What frightened her was that it had felt so natural, so _right,_ for him to touch her that way. Her eyes focused on the silver medallion laying against his chest. A spark of recognition lit within her causing her to gasp as she studied the symbol which looked like two hands holding each other inside of the top half of an hourglass. There was no bottom to the hourglass yet the opening was still there. _A bond that cannot be broken, searching through time, finding____ and losing the other, _a love that will not end, an inexplicable and unrecognizable voice echoed in her mind. A picture flashed through her mind of her wearing that very necklace. But she was different; she was older and wearing clothes that looked like they were from the middle ages. Before she could clearly see the man standing in front of her, the image was gone and she was once again looking at the handsome black haired boy holding her face in his hands. "What's going on?"

"What did you remember?" he asked, his eyes searching hers for the answer.

"Nothing," she lied, attempting to pull away but his arms encircled her waist.

"Let's see if this reminds you of anything," he mumbled, pressing his lips to hers.

Kana was too startled to react when his lips covered hers. Immediately her head was filled with another vision that was so real it was as if she was really experiencing it.

_They were in the middle of the desert. The sand swirled about them, carried on the hot breeze while the sun beat down on their bodies wrapped in white robes. Their skin color was a rich brown, their eyes and hair dark as coal. They were locked in each others embrace, sharing a passionate kiss. A thundering sound like their beating hearts filled their ears...but it wasn't their hearts. Breaking the kiss to look toward the sound, they saw dozens of men on horseback rushing toward them with scimitars raised menacingly above their heads with the sharp blades glimmering in the rays of the blinding sun._

_"I love you," he whispered, giving her one last peck on the lips. "I'll find you again in another time and place."_

_"Wait!" she screamed, watching in horror as one of the riders skewered him through the belly with the sharp edge of the curved scimitar. She forlornly observed his body fall to the powdery sand after the blade was removed. "NOOOO!"_

_Her plaintive scream was cut short as she met the same fate, receiving a sword through her gut. She crawled to her dying lover, grasping his hand to comfort the both of them as their lives flowed away while their blood stained the sand.  
_

As if viewing a movie, she saw herself, and the man who she inherently knew was the same teenage boy kissing her at the moment, die in that sandy desert holding hands even beyond their last breath. Shoving away the boy kissing her, she ran. Blind with fear from not understanding what was happening, she ignored his calls for her to stop. Any other time this would have been a dream come true: one of the most popular boys in school had taken an interest in her and had kissed her. But this...this was something different and terrifying. Her head was filled with all sorts of thoughts she did not understand. Were these memories? How could they possibly be memories? _"Let's see if this reminds you of anything," _his words echoed in her head.

"NO!" she screamed, covering her ears as if it would shut out the voice assaulting her mind. Reaching for the gate to unlatch it, she screamed again when his hand covered hers and pulled her away. "What do you want from me? What is going on? I-I don't understand!"

Kana allowed the tears to escape from her eyes when he pulled her to his chest to hold her tightly in his arms. Her ear was pressed against his heart which was beating wildly. Could he be as frightened as her about what was happening?

"I had no idea who you were until you touched me that day," he murmured, stroking her hair in a comforting gesture. "Then I remembered. The memories came gradually at first, then I was recalling everything at once it seemed. I told my father...well, the man I thought was my father...what happened and he explained everything."

"Well, good. Can you please explain it to me?" she demanded, swiping angrily at her tears with the back of her hand.

"Let's go inside and I will," he suggested, inviting himself into her apartment.

Kana was too determined to understand what the hell was happening to her to worry about the inappropriateness of being alone in the apartment with a boy. Without wasting time or having an reservations, she unlocked the door leaving it open behind her for him to come in. Kicking off her shoes in the foyer and bypassing her slippers, she went to the kitchen to begin preparing tea for them. She did not know he had followed her, but she could feel the closeness of his body when he walked up behind her. Strangely enough she felt comfortable with him like he was supposed to be near her.

"It just doesn't make any damn sense," she mumbled, spooning tea into the jade colored porcelain teapot.

"It didn't to me either. I know how you feel," Sasuke agreed, putting his arms around her. Since he had found her again he felt this overwhelming need to be near her, to reclaim her as his own. Sadly she had not regained her memories of him yet. But it would come. He would be patient and wait for her - just like he always did.

"Who are we?" she asked, pouring the heated water into the teapot. Turning to look at him, she unexpectedly came nose to chest with him. Looking up, she met his ardent gaze. "Or would a better question be _what _are we?"

Sasuke sighed, running his fingers through her hair. "Kana Kaminaga. Your name means powerful middle god. You're a demi-god...half deity, half human."

"You're crazy," she snorted, turning her back to him. Reaching up into the cabinet, she retrieved the marbled green tea cups that were her favorite.

"Kana," he murmured, enclosing her waist with his arms. He propped his chin on her shoulder to whisper in her ear. "I was your servant, your protector. I made the mistake of falling in love with you. Although our love was forbidden, you fell in love with me too. Our punishment is to drift through time, being born time and time again to live our lives searching for each other. Then we find each other before losing our lives to be reincarnated and the search begins once more."

"Do we always die tragic deaths?" she inquired, her hand shaking as she tried to pour the tea.

"Not always. Sometimes we grow old together and die happily. The most painful part is always the longing, that feeling that something is missing...the emptiness..." He moved her hair out of the way, kissing her neck.

Kana shivered from the words he had spoken. They did not make any logical sense to her but they rang true somewhere deep inside of her - a distinct knowing. "Emptiness," she repeated, setting the teapot down before she lost her grip on it. Twisting her body around to face him, she stared into his seemingly depthless eyes. An emotion rose within her so suddenly and so strongly it brought tears to her eyes: love. Her heart perceived his true identity although her mind had not yet grasped it. She circled his neck with her arms, bringing his mouth down to hers for another sweet kiss. The void within her was filled with joy, contentment, and love that she had forgotten existed, that waited for her when reunited with him. Reluctantly removing her lips from his, her fingertips traced the contours of his face while she returned his intense gaze.

"I have chased you through the ages and will continue to do so until the end of time. This is our curse...and our blessing." He paused, wiping away her tears with his thumbs before kissing her cheeks to remove their remnants. No matter how many times he had seen her cry it always made his heart ache. "You are my beloved immortal."

* * *

The subsequent chapters will be random one shots of their encounters and days in their lives from the past.


	2. In the Beginning

Sasuke silently entered the unattended and broken down temple. All of his life, he had heard the stories of the beast who supposedly lived here. The story was told that long before he was born, a nine tailed fox demon had been chased out of his village after killing innocent people. The demon had taken refuge in the nearby temple of Inari, the goddess of rice and fertility who was closely associated with foxes. The villagers feared entering the temple since Inari protected foxes, using them as her messengers and helpers. After that, the temple was abandoned, left to decline over time, falling into its present state of dilapidation and decay. Stepping over the numerous wild vines that lay across the floor like thickly twisted ropes, he pulled an arrow from his quiver, placing it against the string of his bow. Something that sounded like a low growl echoed through the vacuous, musty space causing goose-flesh to rise over his entire body. Pausing briefly, he raised his bow to aim at the shadowy space in front of him from where rhythmic breathing emanated. It was here. Cocking his head to listen more closely, he did his best to pinpoint exactly where the beast would be laying in the darkened lair created by the fallen columns.

"Get out," a female voice whispered threateningly. "Leave this place."

"What?" he mumbled under his breath.

"You have trespassed upon sacred ground. Get out," the distinctly feminine voice repeated a little louder this time.

"You dare to call this dilapidated old shrine sacred ground?" he sneered, pointing his arrow in direction of the snoring. When a menacing snarl cut through the air, he released the string of his bow.

"No, don't!" the voice screamed shrilly before its owner instantly appeared in the path of his airborne weapon.

In shocked awe, Sasuke observed his arrow embed itself in the upper chest of the small snow-white fox that had materialized out of nowhere. He watched the animal drop to the floor lifelessly. Instantly, the body of the fox was replaced by that of a woman with her golden blond curls covering her face which obscured it from his vision. Unfortunately there was nothing to hide the nakedness of the rest of her body from his eyes. A sick feeling invaded the pit of his stomach when he saw his arrow sticking out of her chest near her shoulder where it had pierced her through and through.

"Oh, no," he gasped, dropping to his knees beside her body. He immediately realized he had much bigger problems both literally and figuratively when the beast he heard earlier stepped out of its hiding place. A massive nine tailed fox with reddish-brown fur and eyes the color of blood towered over him.

"Bastard," the beast snarled through his sinisterly sharp teeth. "You hurt my daughter."

"Daughter?" Sasuke mumbled, glancing down at the woman. He fell back on his behind when the woman groaned and writhed around in pain. He had been sure she was dead. But then again, she had transformed from a fox into a human - a something that looked like a human.

"Dammit!" she yelled, jerking her body to a sitting position.

Sasuke stared at the lovely face that was reveled to him. She had the biggest, bluest eyes that he had ever seen. Her eyes and her skin seemed to have an inner light, a luminescence that made them look as if they were glowing. He studied her as she closed those beautiful eyes and gritted her teeth, wrapping her fingers around the shaft of the arrow. Unable to avert his gaze, he winced when she snatched the arrow from her shoulder. Blood poured down her bare body to cover her creamy white skin. Lurching toward her, he pressed his hand against the wound on her body to help stem the flow of blood.

"Don't touch me!" she growled, shoving his hands away. Pressing her palm over the injury, a faint bluish white light glowed at the edges of her hand.

Sasuke was reminded of the giant fox standing over him when he was flicked backwards like an annoying bug with a swipe of one huge paw. He hit the wall which was surprisingly stable and unyielding considering the degree of decomposition of the rest of the temple. Sliding down the wall to the floor strewn with leaves and dirt, his vision blurred when a stabbing, pulsing pain seized his brain due to his head smacking the wall. Shaking his head, he instantly regretted it when everything swam in his vision and the edges of his line of sight turned black. He did not want to lose consciousness for fear the demon would surely kill him and devour him if he did.

"Father! Don't kill him!" she cried out, standing to her feet.

"Why shouldn't I?" the demon demanded, watching the man warily as he ungainly stood to his feet. He made a sound like a cackle of amusement when the human fell straight down on his behind and issued a loud grunt of agony.

"Because I don't want to clean up the mess," she replied off handedly.

Sasuke was unable to see her face since she had turned her back toward him, but her voice did not hold a hint of humor. He supposed he deserved her loathing since he had shot her with an arrow. Once again, he attempted to stand to his feet. His knees wobbled and he fell back against the wall to slowly slide back down to the floor. He was doomed, and he knew it. Closing his eyes, he waited for the inevitable end.

"Fine," the beast muttered, raising his paw. "I'll just put him out of his misery...without the mess."

~...~

Sasuke awoke with a start, blinking repeatedly to clear his bleary eyes. He studied the ceiling above him trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten here. His eyes skirted along the crack the snaked across the ceiling to where a large corner was missing from the side of the building. The broken down temple of Inari - that is where he was. Was he dead? His head ached so acutely it made his eyes feel as if they might be ejected from his skull. No, he was not dead. Hopefully death would not hurt this badly. How long had he been unconscious? He flinched when a cool wet cloth was placed against his forehead. His eyes were looking into two big blue eyes that he was sure he had seen before.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. His throat felt dry and scratchy as if he had swallowed sand. The woman seemed to understand this because she lifted up his head with her hand while holding a cup of cold water to his lips. He drank greedily, thin ribbons of the fluid flowing down his chin in his eagerness to drink his fill.

"My name is Kana," she replied, taking the cup away once it was empty. Laying his head in her lap that was covered with a silky white kimono, she brushed her fingers through his black hair.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, reaching up to touch her lovely pretty face to make sure she was real and not a figment of his imagination.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You invaded my home," she accused him gently, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "You tried to kill my father and nearly killed me."

"Your home?" he murmured, his dark eyes widening when she leaned her face closer to his. A tingly feeling tickled his lips because hers were so close to them. A blush heated his face when he remembered that he had indeed skewered her with an arrow meant for the fox demon. Was she a demon? She had been a fox too. Closing his eyes momentarily, he groaned because he felt as if he were trapped in a nightmare he did not understand.

"Yes, my home," she repeated, sitting up when his nose twitched from being tickled by her hair. "You're trespassing in the Forest of the gods...and my home," she informed him, carefully moving his head from her lap. "What do you want? Why did you come to kill the demon fox like all of the others?"

"But I didn't," he lied, feeling the bed shift as she scooted off the edge. Of course he had come here to kill the demon - but he was not going to tell her that. He pushed himself up on his elbows to watch her as she walked across the room to the window.

"Please, do not lie to me," she requested, turning to glare at him with a fury that had not been evident in her voice.

"I did. I came to see if the legend was true, and I was going to kill him," he answered truthfully, noticing that the sunlight seemed to form a golden aura around her whole body.

"You're just one of many hundreds over the centuries who have come to kill my father," she said calmly, turning to stare out of the window.

"Centuries?" he muttered under his breath in disbelief. He wondered why he was shocked by this because obviously this woman and her father were not human.

"Do you have a hearing problem? Or are you just stupid?" Kana questioned him sharply. She was annoyed with him constantly repeating everything she said as if he did not understand her words.

"Tell me who you really are," he demanded, growing angry with the rude woman. He pushed himself to a sitting position, feeling a bit dizzy. After gathering his wits about him, he tentatively stood to his feet.

"If you're not stupid, then tell me what you already know about me," she challenged, raising her nose in the air as she walked past him to exit the room.

"You're not human since you're centuries old," he replied, following her out of the door. He continued talking when she did not say anything. "Maybe half human...a demi god I would guess. You also referred to the fox demon as your father. I would say he was the human and your mother is Inari. I would also surmise that you look like him since you look nothing like the images I've seen of the goddess."

Kana wordlessly led him outside of the temple, sitting on one of the platforms next to the statue of a fox missing one ear and part of its nose. She stuffed her hands inside the flowing sleeves of her silvery white kimono, settling against the broken stone figure. Her vibrant blue eyes settled on the man while her face remained expressionless.

"You are smarter than you seem," she returned, smirking slightly. "So far you are correct. My mother is a generous goddess, however, she is very jealous as well. My father was the one thing she did not want to share. When she discovered she was pregnant with me, she was forced to return to the heavens. My father had promised he would wait for her return, pledging that he would love her forever. The love of humans is a very fickle thing...fleeting and subject to change with the wind. After my birth, she returned to my father only to find that he was with another woman. In her jealous rage, she turned him into that..." She paused, inhaling deeply, sadly before continuing. "Beast. She intended to kill me too, but he saved me from her fury and hate."

Sasuke sat down on the steps of the temple, staring into the forest. He was not sure if he had stepped into a parallel universe of the weird and wonderful or fell and hit his head, all of this being some kind of strange dream. It was difficult to think at this moment. His parents had taught him that the era of the gods was a bygone thing along with all of the arcane paranoia and misunderstandings caused by ignorance that had come along with it. They were living in a time of enlightenment, where knowledge reigned and critical thinking was the new god. Then he meets these relics from the past that are not even supposed to exist. She had told him what he had heard in bedtime stories as a child. His head had begun to ache even more intensely so he leaned against the base of the platform where she was sitting. His whole body stiffened apprehensively when he felt her fingers comb through his hair. The soothing movement of her brushing through his hair caused him to feel relaxed, almost drowsy. The pain was subsiding as well.

"What do you plan to do with me?" he inquired, tilting his head back to look up at her.

"I'm not sure. You can never leave this place," she informed him, elegantly sliding from the platform down to her knees beside him. She took his face in her hands, gazing deeply into his black eyes.

"Why not?" He wanted to push her away; to get up and flee, but he could not.

"You truly are a fool," she murmured, her arms sliding around his neck. "You have been here for many years. You have been sleeping for decades. This is a cursed place. As soon as you trespassed here, you became cursed as well. You're trapped here...forever...with me."

"There are worse fates that I can think of," he mumbled, staring into her mesmerizing blue eyes. His fingers brushed away the spiral strands of gold that brushed his nose and tickled it. "Do you love me?

"What?" she laughed as if he just said the most preposterous thing. Love him? How could she love a human after what her father had done to her mother? As much as she loved her father, she had sworn that she would never - EVER - fall in love with a mortal or a god. The day she had seen him a curiosity had stirred within her to find about more about him. It was a case of simple curiosity that had prompted her to spare his life, imparting a bit of her immortality to him to lengthen his lifespan. She could have easily killed him before he had pierced her with the arrow, but she had been distracted by his gorgeous face. His boldness to enter their peaceful haven had taken her surprise then his appearance had caught her completely off guard. All of the other interlopers had been dead, killed by her or her father, before their feet even touched the bottom step leading up to the shrine. This temple had once been dedicated to the worship of her mother, but it had become their prison instead. Gathering her scattered thoughts and ignoring the bizarre fluttering of her heart, she said, "I don't love you."

"You will," he promised her, smiling drunkenly as the lightheadedness consumed him. "You will."

"Fool."

~\0/~

Kana collapsed onto the broad chest of the man she loved. Her fingers drifted over his exquisite ivory colored skin. A smile lifted up the corners of her lips as she watched his chest rise and fall while he struggled for air after their lovemaking. Her breathing matched his as they both composed themselves. She sighed in contentment when his arms enclosed her body to hold her tightly against him. She loved him with all of her heart. When exactly she had fallen in love with him, she had no idea; for how long she had loved him, she could not say. Time had no meaning for them in this place. Day melted into night, weeks passed became months, and years turned to decades - all of it going by in what seemed minutes.

A soft breeze began to blow, rufflling their hair before it increased to a strong wind that whipped leaves around their bodies. A whirlwind of white smoke appeared before dissipating quickly in the high wind. The goddess Inari, dressed in a white kimono with her straight waist length black hair whipping about her body, stood in their presence. Her favorite personal guards, the human like embodiments of jealousy and desire, stood at her sides. The woman with pink hair glared openly at Kana with envy evident in her greedy green eyes. The sensual and seductive blonde gazed at Sasuke with her light blue eyes full of wanton lust.

"Mother," Kana gasped, sitting up with the sheet clutched to her chest. She could not help but feel violated that the mother who had abandoned her had suddenly returned to her life without warning. It was also humiliating and infuriating that the goddess had appeared in her private chambers while she was with her lover.

"What do we have here?" Inari inquired, stepping toward the bed to investigate the dark-haired man. Her upper lip peeled back from her teeth as she stared at the man in disgust. Her reddish-brown eyes switched over to her daughter. "You broke your own rule didn't you? You fell in love with a human after all. Stupid girl."

"Mother, I -" She was cut off by her mother's scream of rage.

"How dare you?!" Inari screeched because she felt as if her daughter had betrayed her. She had hoped to save her daughter from the horrible fate she herself had suffered; that was why she had locked Kana away here with her father to begin with. She had wanted to keep her daughter protected from the evils of men and experiencing a broken heart. Reaching up to her neck, she took off the necklace she was wearing.

Kana reached out for the medallion on the silver chain that her mother was handing to her. She glanced at her mother's sad face briefly before studying the picture on the heavy round silver emblem: two hands clasped together over an open-ended half of an hour glass. Her eyes flashed back to her mother to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Wear this to remember," her mother told her before offering an apologetic smile for what she was about to do. "You two are going to be bound to each other for eternity. You will be doomed to always be together, but always apart. Time will come and go but your love and your bond will not. Kana, you will be ever-changing in your appearance and you will forget your beloved every time you die."

"What?" she gasped, staring at her mother with eyes widened in shock and fear. "Mother! What are you doing?"

"Sasuke," her mother said, touching the man's cheek gingerly with the tips of her fingers.

Sasuke gasped feeling as if every molecule of oxygen had been sucked out of his body. He was blinded momentarily by a white light that exploded in the room with the brightness of a thousand suns.

"You have been blessed, or rather cursed, with immortality that will carry beyond this damnable place. You will always remember your love for Kana, spending each life given to you, longing for her, needing her. The desire to find your lost love will be a consuming fire that drives you to search for her, but you won't understand why. You both will suffer from an overwhelming emptiness until you are reunited." She ceased her words momentarily, leaning forward to kiss her daughter on the forehead. The next words she planned to speak would complete the curse. "_A bond that cannot be broken, searching through time, finding and losing the other, a love that will not end."_


End file.
