Summary: It was by falling in love that an immortal became human.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be celebrating Sakura's birthday by publishing a sasusaku oneshot on Jump.

Edited: July 11, 2011

REBORN

She first saw him on one of the Freehouses, one of the rare links to all Worlds, a place of sanctuary, an abode for the Worldless and the Timeless, where there is only one rule and a consequence so dire everyone obeys.

She was to her people, nothing more than a babe, but no secrets could be kept to a home where children are present, and though her years were few, she was old enough to understand certain things. And it was because of these reasons, she ran away.

It was a Worldless who told her of the Freehouse, and she knew that only in that place can she have the opportunity to steal some time.

Despite the place being full, he caught her eye almost immediately. Perhaps it was the distinct smell of his mortality. It may be the bloodied clothes he wore. Or it may be the way he gazed back. Regardless of reasons, she felt an overwhelming urge to go near him, and so with a guarded trot, she sat at the chair beside him.

He was much taller than her, and if he was of her kind, she would say that he was of the same age as her brother who was hundreds of years older. If she was human as surely as he is, she could suppose that she would look like a seven-year old sitting beside an 18 year-old.

"My name is Sakura." She told him.

He nods. "Sasuke." He replied, his eyes never leaving her form.

"It is rare for ordinary mortals to be here, I heard." She looks at him curiously.

"Hn." He nods.

"Then how…" It was then that she recognized the bloody smell on his shirt. "Excuse me."

It was hers. The blood was hers. And the only way an ordinary mortal could pass through the Veils was if they gain power through forbidden means. One of them was gained through the death of her kind.

She quickly ran to the exit, to return to her home world.

She didn't notice that the man kept staring after her, fists clenched, with a hopeful gleam in his obsidian orbs.

"The Freehouses pay no allegiance to Time, Your Majesty. It is a unique place where the present meets the past and the future."

"I've heard it said that those who stay there are immediately free of all their responsibilities and obligations, even those Bonded in blood."

"That is true, Your Majesty. As long as you stay there, if you stay there. But no one stays there for long."

The second time she saw him was during a party. This surprised her, for humans do not mingle with their kind. It has been hundreds of years, but she could never forget his coal black eyes.

"One of the Numbers." Her handmaiden whispered and she nodded in understanding.

Has it been this strange when he saw her at the Freehouse, she wonders. She sees Sasuke in about the same human physical age as she did when she first saw him and now, she was probably looking as old as the Sasuke she met there. But as time paradoxes go, this was probably the first time he saw her, this boy who would possibly be her killer.

"How impudent of Lord Orochimaru to bring such a lower being in our presence!" Her brother sneers while his companion giggled.

"I believe he just wishes to flaunt his new toy, this Eclipse of his." Her brother's fiancée replies.

Sakura looked at them both. "Eclipse?" But her brother shook his head.

"This does not concern you, Sister." With a gesture, she was dismissed from her brother's presence.

Sighing, she parts through the crowd, eagerly hoping to avoid the human boy, but her efforts were thwarted when Lord Orochimaru approached her, his snakelike grin making her uncomfortable.

He bowed gracefully and she reluctantly held out her hand for him to kiss. "It is a pleasure to see you, Your Majesty. You come to these gatherings so rarely; your existence is almost a myth." He chuckles.

"It is my brother's presence, not mine that is essential in these gatherings." Sakura curtsied, hoping that she could get away from Orochimaru and the silent shadow behind him.

"You belittle yourself too much, Your Majesty. You are extremely important to all of us, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I'm sure you don't. Pardon me, but I am tired and I wish to leave." Giving another curtsy, she left the eccentric noble, but not before giving a nervous glance at the boy once more.

"Father and Mother are always at conference with Lord Orochimaru again."

"It's just something trivial, nothing to be concerned about."

"Brother, I do not like him."

"Me too. But he has the ability that our Kingdom needs."

"What exactly does Lord Orochimaru do for Father and Mother?"

"It's nothing a young girl like you should concern about. Just let it be."

Their third meeting was even more unexpected. Sakura had promised herself to avoid seeing the boy. She had duties important for her kingdom, for her world. She has been training for centuries, so that she would one day be ready to inherit her mother's title. She should not concern herself with mundane things of mortal life. But when she discovered exactly what the Numbers were, she couldn't help herself.

After demanding entry from a flustered guard, she frantically scanned through the cells, almost barely finding him. Upon seeing him again, she was surprised. It must have been a year or two since that party, but the boy has grown taller, his face more angular. Before, she has seen a young innocent boy and that time she doubted if he really was the man she met in the Freehouse. But now she is sure that the person before her would eventually be that man.

Hesitantly, she questioned herself she is doing the right thing, and she made up her mind. Sakura opened the door and knelt before him.

"Sasuke." She murmured, remembering the name this boy's future self gave her.

He stared at her, confused.

"Your name, it's Sasuke." She reiterated.

He shook his head. "I don't have a name."

"You have one now." She held his hand. "Your name is Sasuke and from now on, you are under my protection."

"Your Majesty! What are you doing here?"

"This boy, what is this? While I touch him, I feel my heart racing, I feel faint. And there is something wet in my eyes."

"It is pain, it is despair, Your Majesty. You are feeling the last emotions this human boy felt before dying."

"How did this happen? What is he doing here?"

"He is one of the Numbers. He must have expired after one of Lord Orochimaru's experiments, the poor thing."

"Your Majesty, where are you going?"

"Where does he keep the Numbers?"

Her handmaidens were scandalized, but she didn't care. She led Sasuke to her apartments and called for someone who knew how to treat human wounds. A Half called Tsunade was brought before her and carefully explained the concepts of medicine and how to take care of a human.

As she applied the salve given to her, she was intrigued how the cuts slowly stopped bleeding. Her senses tell her that Sasuke was finally starting to relax and was soothed by the cooling cream.

After a while, the boy drifted to sleep, and she instinctively began to caress him as he lay in her lap. It was then that she felt a presence behind her.

"Can this wait until morning, Brother?"

"No, Sakura. Our parents are angry."

"Perfectly justifiable, I am angry with them as well."

"Sakura!"

She turned and glared at the man behind her. "He's sleeping." She hissed.

Her brother sighed. "Just go to the throne room, Sakura."

Sakura carefully placed Sasuke on some pillows, and found a cloak thick enough to cover him, before leaving with her impatient brother.

"Do you understand what you have done, Young Lady?"

"Yes. Just as I understand what you are doing."

"You are too young to understand what is going on."

"You keep telling me I'm too young to do anything! But I'm not blind, what you are doing, this is…"

"Silence! You are being irrational. Our duty is to our Kingdom, to our world. Such lowlife creatures are expendable for the greater good."

"Your Majesty, if I may intrude. Perhaps, we can permit the Princess to have a pet. It may help her in her future responsibility."

"Orochimaru…, perhaps you may be right. Sakura, you can keep this…this thing. But remember that it is now your responsibility."

Sakura was surprised to see her ward squirm and cry during evenings. Soon, she discovered, he would calm down if she hums and caress him back to sleep. Tsunade told her that humans were prone to nightmares, dreams of memories or fears that could heavily disturb them. She learned from Sasuke that his parents were killed. He sees their death every night.

Believing that the nightmares can disappear if she gives him happy memories, she gave him a tour of the Kingdom and showed to him all her favorite places. She shared to him everything that made her smile, and Sakura was glad to know that his nightmares were becoming less frequent.

And Sasuke refused to leave her side ever since.

"You don't really speak much, do you Sasuke?"

"Hn…"

"That's fine. Be careful, the knife!"

"Sakura!"

"I'm fine. See."

"There's no cut."

"Of course not, I heal almost immediately. I'm not like you, Sasuke. I'm not human."

Eventually, Sakura had to give more concentration to her training which frustrated Sasuke because he cannot enter the Temple. To give him something to do, Sakura requested the Captain of the Guards to train him in martial arts.

She was frequently receiving reports of how her ward was talented and how he learned very fast, even defeating some of the more learned soldiers.

When she came by to see one of his spars, Sasuke ran to her immediately after defeating his opponent, but was puzzled by her pale complexion.

"Sakura, are you well?" He asks.

Smiling nervously she shook her head. "I'm fine, Sasuke, don't worry about me."

But deep inside, she recalled her meeting with him, and his blood stained clothes. It has been several years now and although she still looked the same, Sasuke was approaching the age of the man she first saw.

"Sakura, I promise that I'll always protect you."

The Kingdom was at chaos, the World was at chaos. There were council meetings left and right, and Sakura had to do her temple duties more often.

One day, while returning to her apartments, she saw Sasuke in a brawl against several nobles.

"Sasuke!" She ran and pulled him away.

"Forgive me for this remark, Your Majesty, but you better keep your dog in line!"

Sasuke tried to break free from her but she kept him back. "Leave them alone." She whispered.

As they returned to the apartments, Sasuke furiously kicked the wall.

"You are frustrated." Sakura read him. "Why?"

"It's nothing."

"Sasuke."

"Why am I human? Why can't I be like you?"

With a sad smile, she approached him and hugged him as she used to when he was young. "It's okay, just let it all out."

Sensing him flinch, she looked at him. "Sasuke?" Only to notice that he was taller than her now, and as their eyes meet, she felt a deep pain in her chest. When she saw Sasuke's face go nearer to hers, she immediately pushed him away.

"I have to go back to the Temple." She said before going away.

"You are becoming Human."

"What are you talking about? How can that be? That's not possible."

"Your father was wrong in allowing that human to be with you, you are forbidden to see him again."

"Mother!"

"He is making you feel emotions, Sakura! It is one thing to feel them, but you are kindling these emotions within yourself! You are creating your own emotions! This cannot happen, if you are to take over my place, you have to let go of him and what you feel. You have to forget."

"I do not understand…mother, Mother! Priestess! My mother is-!"

"No, Daughter. Listen, you have to learn the truth of your duty, I believe it is time."

Tears fell from Sakura's face as she heard Sasuke's struggles against the guards at the Temple gates.

"Let me see her! Sakura!"

"The Princess ordered us to escort you outside!"

"I don't believe you! Let me through! Sakura!"

She wanted to see him again, but she knows she shouldn't. The two of them were caught in a fatal design too difficult to oppose.

As she continued to sob in her chambers, she was surprised to suddenly hear screaming and waves of pain and death overwhelmed her. She could hear the Temple crumbling and as she looked up, she saw a grotesque creature before her.

"Sasuke." She whispered.

The creature grabbed her and flew away from the palace.

"Sasuke, what happened to you?"

It was Sakura's first time out of the palace since her first attempt in running away so long ago, and she could see the world has changed. The air was so heavy, she could barely breathe. There were hardly any trees or animal nearby. The buildings were crumbling and humans, so many humans were dying on the streets. The waves of pain were so overwhelming she couldn't stand up.

"Sakura."

She looked up and held the hand resting worriedly at her shoulders. He reverted to his human form a while back. There was a seal that Orochimaru had placed on him when he was young that activated at his anger and turned him into that creature.

Her surroundings were terrible, and she can feel every single emotion around her. But still, for some reason, she felt happiness. For a moment she had felt despair at the thought of never seeing him again, but being with him gave her a sense of contentment.

A rumble shook her out of her reverie.

"We have to go back, Sasuke."

"Why? We can stay here together!"

"I have a duty, I'm not human like you Sasuke, but I wish I were."

Holding hands, they returned to the Temple and for the first time, Sasuke was permitted to go with her to the inner Altar where Sakura's mother, pale and shaking, was waiting.

"The Numbers are human candidates to be the Eclipse. One of them will kill the World. And I am the World, my dear. All the females of our line are, Daughter. Once the Eclipse kills me, everything will reset, all life will reborn and you will become the new World."

"And Sasuke, Sasuke is the Eclipse?"

"Yes, and he will perish with me and everyone else outside the Kingdom. The Eclipse has been programmed to kill the World, and there's nothing that can be done about it."

Standing before the World, Sasuke began to transform again, and the program compelled him to steadily approach the altar.

"Stop!" Sakura ran and hugged Sasuke from behind.

"Let go, Sakura." Her mother commanded. "This must happen. The Eclipse will kill the World."

"I am the new World." Sakura faced Sasuke. "Kill me instead."

"Sakura! What are you doing?"

"I cannot continue existing without him." Sakura cried. "If I die, my powers will go to you, Mother, as the only one capable of being the World, right? Everything can keep on existing and will eventually heal. If I become the new World, I will never be able to do my duty knowing that the person I love is dead."

"Sakura…" She could see Sasuke gaining control of himself. "I can't…"

"Let me be mortal for once, Sasuke. I know that this must happen."

There was silence, as the program took over and the Eclipse killed the new World. The World, Sakura's mother, stood, regaining her youth and approached the young man holding her daughter's lifeless body.

"I always knew my daughter to be a rebellious spirit. Every female of our kind had been kept away from humanity just so they could carry on their duty. But my daughter always ahd that defiant spark. She would have been a wonderful World."

"Why am I not dead? Aren't I supposed to die with her?"

"Sakura has changed a lot of things, so she must have changed that to."

"But she's still gone."

"Yes, her immortal self is."

"What do you mean?"

"There may be a way to bring her back. She can no longer be immortal, but she can come back in one form or another. This is may the only thing I can do for her as a mother."

Sakura never thought she would find herself in the Freehouse again. This time, everything was different. She could no longer feel waves of emotions, but she could feel the wind brush by causing her to shiver.

Looking around, she was smiled as she saw a familiar face.

There was relief and joy in his eyes as he came closer and held her tightly and kissed her.

"You took your time."

"I had to be reborn again, and apparently, no one under18 years old is allowed here."

"I saw you when you were young, you were kinda cute."

"And you scared the hell out of me, then."

"I love you, Sakura."

"And we'll always be together."

THE END.

A/N: Happy Birthday, Sakura.

Ok, so this is my offering for Sakura's birthday. I hope everyone likes it.

If there's any questions, confusions, just ask. But in case anyone wonders, Sakura's family is an embodiment of a world, such that they are immortal and their kingdom is composed of embodiments of nature or thought. Although some would occassionally marry humans, therefore becoming Halfs. Contact between the Kingdom and humans are rare. A human called the Eclipse is selected to one day launch a program to cause the world to be destroyed and reborn again by killing the physical embodiment of the world, and a new World (Sakura) would take over. This has happened several times already and Sakura had grown up knowing she has a very important responsibility, but because she is so young (just hundreds of years old), she is still in a rebellious state. As the embodiment of the world or nature, she is in tune to emotions. That itself is not bad, but when she dveloped her own emotions, her credibility as the new World was threatened. And Sakura looked 18 years old from the time she met Sasuke until he grew up since she ages differently compared to him.

And about my other fics, I'm working on it, just waiting for inspiration. (the manga keeps on destroying it, thus pushing me towards AU)

~Chantrea

Edit:

A/N: I'm starting to edit my fics again. Hopefully, in the process I could find the inspiration to continue my neglected chaptered stories.