Sakura. Sakura, we must speak before you awaken to the world of men. My spirit stirs sleepily, chakra exhaustion still prevalent and suppressing my physical consciousness. Warmth suffuses the space between my broken heart and my will. Slowly, I realize that it is the demon I have been given, wrapped around the fractured pieces of my innocence.

I am exhausted, and, as such, I cannot move. All that my soul can manage is a weak shift of my astral body. She feels me, however, and curls closer, supporting my fragility. Sakura. Relief bleeds into her tone, and I look at her face, large and hovering so close to mine.

"Who are you?" The question bubbles out from my very being, vulnerable and saddened. The gentle beast sighs against my body, her great head descending as a rough tongue rasps against my face and hair, cleaning the filth of guilt from me. A slow vibration works through my spirit, and finally, the great Beast answers me.

I am Matatabi. I am the second of the Tailed Beasts, the Nibi. And I am housed within your spirit; thus, you have become my jinchuuriki. She wraps her warmth around me once more, tightening and holding me together. As such, I am bound to you. I am sorry for the actions of men, Sakura. If not for their interference, this would have never been forced upon you, and I would still be free. Her voice dwindles away wistfully, and a small amount of strength enters my spirit. My astral body sits up painfully.

"What if I were to release you?" The great cat snaps her head back towards me, mismatched eyes of green and gold meeting and holding my own. "I do not wish to imprison you, Matatabi. You seem as though you would not wish to harm anyone. Why have you been sealed within us?" Wind buffets my face, blowing my hair back as the fiery cat sighs again.

I would be honored, were it possible. The only way for me to be released is through your death, Sakura. I jerk slightly, unprepared for this horrible truth. Matatabi's eyes gleam sympathetically, with a sorrow that only two prisoners can share, for we are as trapped as a criminal surrounded by bars. We will be together until my death, I realize distantly, as tears drip slowly down my face. Although there are murmurs of the possibility of extraction, not simply transference, you, my host, would be killed. My chakra is woven with yours, something that aids you in keeping me sealed from the world of men, and strengthens you beyond what you previously would have been able to attain. However, should you perish before I am trapped within another, we will both cease to exist. I am frozen, desiring more than anything else to not know of this hideous fate awaiting the both of us.

Matatabi lowers her head to rub her face against my shoulders, her tongue cleaning the salty tears from my face again. It is a fate we must share, Sakura. As such, we must accept it, and live on. I will not lie to you, child; I wish to be free, but I cannot so long as men hate and fear my kind. For when we are all one, we will bring about the end of this world. That is why innocents such as you must be formed into weapons, and treated as monsters. Her voice is sad. Villages will fight over you, men will fear you, and there will be few to support you. But it is not all so bad.

She pauses, her fire flickering gently and coaxing away my sadness as her tails wave gently. Yugito Nii was more than my holder. She was my friend. She understood more of me and my existence than the men that used her for their safety. Matatabi's lips shift in a smile, filled with sharp teeth. To be a jinchuuriki is to court death, expected to escape each time unharmed. Eventually, the thrill fades to fear, and the courtship ends. That is what Yugito was attempting - to escape her Village's courtship with death, and free me from the oppression of man.

I finally speak, breaking my silence. "Are not all ninja loyal only to their village?" I am confused as she shakes her head, looking at me with a sad sort of fondness that I recognize from the eyes of Shisui, gazing upon my mother.

No, Sakura. Ninja are loyal to power, and to love. Yugito was loyal to Kumo for a time, until she realized that she was nothing more than a pawn on their chessboard. Expendable, should she acquire a mortal blow. I could always be transferred to another vessel, and the game would begin again. So, she sought to escape, to leave behind all she had once been a part of. Her village did not look kindly upon her shift in loyalties, and ordered her brought back alive. Matatabi growled softly. They intended to transfer me to another ninja with more solid loyalties, and destroy my friend in the process. We were almost free, Sakura. We were almost free, until she was struck down in a pointless skirmish, and your family found her, dying in the mud. From there, you know our story.

I am stunned, and awareness is returning swiftly to me. Matatabi wraps her chakra, a projection of her physical form, closer around me, anchoring me inside my spirit, away from the harshness of the world. "Is there nothing I can do? Is there no one I can trust, no one I can love?" Tears gather in my eyes again, my heart aching from pain that is too fresh.

You have me, Sakura. You have me, and you have the Uchiha, Shisui. He is an honorable man, and will protect you as only kindred may. And there is another of my kind where we are to finish our journey. There is more to us than a monster. There is a link between all of the Tailed Beasts and our jinchuuriki. You will find him, Sakura. And he will be better for it. The gentle cat begins to unwind herself from my spirit, bringing me closer to the real world, full of pain as it is.

"Wait! Please don't send me back yet. I am not ready." I beg of her, and she rumbles under my chest, her fiery fur tickling my cheek, drying my tears.

No, you are not ready. But you must return. Do not worry, Sakura. From this pain, this difficulty, you and I will only become stronger. And I will remain with you, always. Now, it is time to wake up. The light and cold become stronger and stronger, until I close my eyes and awaken to face my fate.

A/N - Hello again! I was so happy to get several well thought-out reviews yesterday - thank you to AlarictheCat and jacpin2002, as well as Sakura-Fairy-Tail! You guys are awesome, and I love you. Also, thank you to the Guest who reviewed the last chapter - as you're not logged in or part of FF, I can't respond directly to you, but I appreciate your kind words regardless. :) After reading the encouraging words you all shared with me, I felt it was best to reward you with another chapter. This is my thank-you to all of you!

I thought the concept of jinchuuriki and their Tailed Beasts should be both beautiful and sorrowful - they're stuck together, for better or worse, until death or transference, and they can either antagonize one another, or understand one another. For the longest time in canon, Kurama wanted to escape from Naruto, and was hateful/bitter towards humans, until such time as they understood one another and came out stronger for it. I want Sakura, in this fic, to be a strong character who struggles and overcomes, but isn't perfect. There isn't much to love in a perfect character - there isn't as much beauty without little imperfections. That's my view of her character, and I'll be touching on it a lot.

Also, Shisui will play an integral part in this twist on the Naruto universe, and not just for the reasons you may expect. I don't want to give too much away just yet, but I'd love to hear your theories about his involvement in Sakura's life.

Again, thank you so much for staying with me in this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you do, please tell me what you think! I look forward to hearing from you. See you next chapter! - AT