Some Fall By Virtue

Chapter Three: tryin' to learn the lesson in

His footsteps were near silent on the dewy grass, the sound of his cloak rustling blending in with the noise of the wind brushing up against the leaves of the undergrowth they trawled through. Fainbarad was undoubtedly a master of stealth, without chakra that was. Sakura followed him soundlessly, smirking slightly at the looks that earnt her as she followed him akin to a ghost. At least her chakra was still good and accessible. Not to mention it didn't bring back memories of her second incarnation. No, it simply only reminded her of the first and third, and the painful end they'd brought her.

Things would undoubtedly have been worse, had she not been able to use chakra in that form. Melkor had never been made aware of that skill of hers, but then again, she had been too angry to think straight. She hadn't need to use it, what with the other natural weapons bestowed upon that unnatural form. It was a boon to her then though, given she hardly intended to shift form as such.

Still, she silently made a note of how he moved – because it paid to be prepared. One never knew when chakra exhaustion might strike. Her latest time as a rogue had taught her that much. Though really, she had learnt to look out for such things before she even left Konoha. Not that it had ultimately stopped her teammates from leaving her to die in a ditch, cold, hurt, and alone.

Fear and anger made people do stupid things, she could acknowledge. It didn't make the betrayals from her past sting any less. Sakura sighed softly, the sound lost on the wind. There wasn't anyone to betray her there... well, aside from Fainbarad and Gilithien.

She swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought, pushing the horrible musing as far away from the forefront of her mind as possible. Because she was growing to appreciate what the couple were doing for her – a stranger who had come out of nowhere. Perhaps that was why her guard was constantly up. Maybe that was why she was waiting in anticipation. Waiting for the inevitable betrayal. Sakura tilted her head, staring at the broad expanse of back in front of her, clad in that greyish-green cloak. Was it wrong of her to hope it wouldn't happen?

Evil beings like her probably deserved to be betrayed. Sakura ignored the voice which crowed out inside her that she hadn't been evil in her first life. Being outspoken and forthright in that which she had pursued didn't count as evil. Sakura knew that much. After all, she'd been pure evil incarnate the second time around.

It was probably the same pitifully weak part of her which longed for the company of the couple. The couple that all but dangled in her face the bond she would never have with her own soulmate. She hated the green-eyed monster which reared its ugly head at every display of affection, no matter how subtle. Sakura only hated that part of her all the more. They reached a river then, and Sakura stared at her reflection. She blended in with the people there thanks to the mixture in her hair, but her own eyes still unnerved her.

The green was bright, almost unnaturally so. She was unnatural there too, so it was probably telling. She tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. Green was such an ugly colour. It was one of the few things both her forms had in common – the unnaturally bright, almost acrid, green which filled her iris.

"You see these tracks leading here?" Fainbarad enquired, and Sakura nodded, spying the tracks of rabbits and deer.

"That I do," she said, mentally marking where the place was in the mental map she was forming of the area in her mind. It was something she had always excelled in. Her mind had always been her strength, more so for the Elemental Nations that was. She had been too angry the second incarnation. Angry and warped. That was how best to describe that far too long life.

"Should you come here though, keep an eye out for predators. They've been known to linger in this area too," he said, expression turning grim under the cowl of the cloak he always seemed to insist to wear up. "And should you ever see any fell wolves, then flee and inform me – unless you think yourself capable of easily dealing with such foes."