#finally--

Gone. After what had been an arduous battle, the kaiju that had attempted to take her territory fled into the trees where a stampeding path of its massive escape had crushed various flora of the underbrush below. The Acid Body coating her person gradually and harmlessly disintegrated like mist, leaving the grime and perspiration accumulated on her person to melt away. Still somewhat winded, the promise of a small glade she’d noticed nearby and the crystal clear pool of water twining around the massive trunk of a mossy tree had been her original destination. Sifting through the tangles of Spanish moss tumbling from its lower branches did Sakura part them before coming to the mirror-smooth, tranquil area where it was only herself and the buzzing of a few insects dancing in the shafts of sunlight that lit the area afire in all its life.

Sitting down at the shoreline, perched upon a particular large and mossy root, Sakura slipped off her leather sandals and slid her feet in the cool water, sighing in relaxation. That was, before she thought she saw a telltale strand of vibrant red hair.

   tenebrous does the night fold , a cheated death profuse in wintry chill with the frigidity of that resentment . life should have been denied , without form nor falter within the land of fire . dreams colored recent memory , of letting go , of cups exchanged as comrades -- but it was empty , a lofty presumption that had not truly come to pass . madara stood assured in the embankments of snow , the crests of white glossed in faint illumine where the moon trekked after the cover of clouds finished their passage . days had passed , maybe weeks . he was remembering life , of a new immortality that had been bequeathed unto him . of the powers still extant , that terrifying spectacle that still had him craving for its exhilaration once more . remembrance would sate him , he muses . it had to . 

  in crackling firelight aside a wan fire , mantled with thick blankets , he kept vigil until a bright and errant light seized the evening . canting head in its direction , madara’s eyes narrow in suspicion . something was here -- something that didn’t bear chakra . the faint clangor of armor sounded as he arose and let the blankets shed from him , abandoning his place of temporary rest as he strode towards the place of impact . yes , indeed something -- or someone -- was there .