SasuSaku Smut Month 2015:

day 13: Cowgirl, day 15: Wedding night

Sequel to: Burning Rivers ［江］, which I highly recommend reading first.

Under Heaven

。

Scorching Lakes

湖

[Part 2 。第二话]

Neither of the two knew that the tiny gasp that walked in on them in their afterglow would be the beginning of their grand destruction.

The rebellion began the day after his birthday. And what a glorious way it was to remember the day one's life is turned over for the second time. The clan heads and sect leaders - fathers and mothers of the shamed and disregarded maidens from his banquet the night before stormed into the cave to seek revenge and retribution for their daughters.

"They betrayed our decorum and committed the taboo! How could shi-di and shi-jie be together? That is shameful enough. But a female master and male disciple, that is unheard of! Absolutely blasphemous. They will be punished by the Gods."

Konohagakure was razed to the ground, much of it's interior burnt to ashes as its followers spread far and wide to protect their sect leaders and preserve the arts from enemies. Some blamed the two for allowing Konoha to be shamed by the whole of Jianghu, others saw it as a revolution towards the irrational status classes labeled against them.

Many of them had known both Sasuke and Sakura since they were young and knew the day was coming, that it was only a matter of time, but they could not protect them against the army that had formed against the pair. Before leaving, Sakura had sealed the springs and walls containing their sect's techniques, passed on from one generation to the next, safeguarding the tombs before the cave was ransacked for its secrets.

They were lucky that before their escape, neither had left the cave after induction into the sect. Not many knew of their appearance and while their battle prowess was heard from, few was the number that had actually witnessed their techniques and stayed alive to tell the tale.

Their travels took them across the nation. Away from Fire. To Wind and Water and over Cloud. Living as travellers, they took each day as it was - without a definite goal. Drifting down rivers, running through meadows of marigolds, jumping through waterfalls that extended into the atmosphere and skiing snow tipped slopes.

Materialistic values seemingly disappeared as they interacted so rarely with other people.

Sasuke knew that Sakura no longer saw the invisible barrier of class between the two of them with the demolishment of the sect, and never had she ordered him to do anything outside of the caves. But he had been so accustomed to taking care of her and seeing to her every need that they often fought.

She did not desire the past luxuries she once had, yet he would go out of his way to fetch them for her. In the world of wushu, the only thing that mattered was to be alive and the various missions and dangerous quests he undertook just for the little silver linings was just not worth it in her opinion.

"Where did you go?" She asked, looking up from her woollen blankets.

"Out." Gesturing at the opening of their shelter before putting down a paper wrapped bundle at her feet. "These are for you."

Sakura stood, letting the fabric covering her naked torso fall to the ground as she reached her hand out, ready to strike him at the back of his head for worrying her for no reason.

Arguments never lasted long between them and making up each time tended to be physical. Sparring or sex. Neither could really be differentiated. Sakura thought that they fought like they were having sex. And Sasuke thought that Sakura was the most violent when they are making love.

"I told you. I don't need anything."

"But I wanted to see you in them."

In the winter of Uchiha Sasuke's seventeenth year alive, he fell deeply in love with a girl with hair of snow covered cherry blossom petals, and sleeves sewn with rivers of blood, and lips sweeter than any rice wine he has ever drunk.

A girl who has killed everyone that has ever tried to harm him and doesn't know how to apologise when she freaks out each time she finds him missing, away to buy her a new hair pin or a pair of chrysanthemum embroidered slippers.

He slept right under the stars, warmth only coming from Sakura's petite body and a small fire they would re-light each day at dawn. And he dreamed only of happy beginnings and wanderlust and adventure. He rested solely with the knowledge that the girl he loved, loved him back. Maybe even more fiercely than he loved her. And it didn't seem like the endless happiness and boundless freedom would ever run out.

They didn't have much. But they had each other, and that had been enough.

xxx

There had been instances where people tried to tear them apart. Numerous occasions.

When they had passed by the Sect of Sunagakure, although the young head - Gaara - had been accepting and willing to accommodate the two of them, their relationship had been viewed as poisonous and un-natural.

Women attracted to Sasuke's power and looks flocked towards him like bees to honey, trying to 'relieve' him of his sin. Sakura, on the other hand, suffered from the prejudice of others. Men were not silent about their lust towards her and combined with their taboo relationship to prove her supposedly promiscuous nature, she was constantly susceptible to abuse. Her oaths as a wushu practitioner would not allow her to hurt the vulnerable or those to weak against her, and the paradox it had formed haunted her each day. Even with the power to silence them, her nature had mercy upon the weak.

They ended their stay when Gaara offered to wed Sakura and give Temari to Sasuke, a 'donation' as Sakura rescued the latter's brother. He said that it was a perfect solution to disentangle the troubles they were having. That with their young age, as long as they were separated - they could learn to love another given distance between them.

"What could be more important than a stable life and a strong shelter above your heads?" Gaara had said.

"Love. Love is more important. And I wish for your luck in finding one you love."

Sakura was endlessly diplomatic until the last moment even though Sasuke could tell that she was reaching her own tipping point. Women did not fight in Suna Sect, there was no place for them there, as with so many other sects - Konoha had been special.

Sasuke could tell that she was a ship without a pier to return to. That the loss of her safe haven truly hit her hard. Gaara's words had only further amplified her pain despite her love for him.

She needed a home as much as she needed him.

xxx

Sasuke turns eighteen before he knows it. And he remembers that if the Uchiha clan were still to be alive, he would be of age to wed - to take a wife and raise a child. The moment he wakes, he briefly remembers the simple proposal he gave Sakura before they fled and he wonders if she remembers it as well.

It is on a windy night where they take shelter within a small cave and Sasuke hears her beginning to break after she sings him 'happy birthday' by herself. They had completely loss track of time when Sakura's own birthday had come and passed, and it is the first birthday they have properly celebrated away from the sect.

The silence thick when her singing ends, and the reality of there only being the two of them scares her. Scares him. It terrifies him that she may be unhappy.

That he broke the two of them out of a cage they should not have ever escaped from.

"Sasuke. Why am I not sad when I feel like crying?"

Her lover often proved to be more worldly than her. She envied the way he could calmly extricate emotions and understand her even better than herself. Read her like an open scroll.

Sakura misses the busy chattering and the consistent nagging of her council and her shi-di and shi-mei. Misses the boys that served her tea and girls that massaged her feet and the burning need to protect Sasuke from leaving her for the dangers and wonders of the outside world that are no longer outside.

But Sasuke doesn't need protecting anymore. He is now stronger than her. He knows more than her in this strange place where people are filled with greed and envy and distrust.

In this new world filled with graceful women he has never had the chance to see before, Sakura doesn't know if she is brave enough to say that she is the most beautiful in his eyes anymore, not when every time he goes away on his trips he sees a little more of this dystopia.

She has loss her power, she has loss her innocence, and she has loss her home. Without her sect, she feels a loss of purpose. Without strength in herself, she feels like she may lose Sasuke.

"I don't know."

"Were we really wrong?" She glanced up towards the crying sky, fingers stretching out to grasp the waning moon. "Maybe this love really is cursed. The heavens are punishing us for this unclean act we have committed."

"Love of yesterday does not become a farewell today. It will only grow stronger as the red thread between us entwines once more."

"Please do not speak in riddles right now."

Sakura hates hearing what once would have been a request masquerading as an firm order - turn into a plead. Loathes the way that she has let Sasuke do all the work in their relationship instead of trying for a future along with him earnestly. Though they were equals at the beginning of the journey, their positions have dwindled with time and there was no one to blame but her. Sighing, she looks to Sasuke, trying to puzzle out his pensiveness before laying her head against his lap.

The two of them, blood red against ebony black under the white limestone, stay like this until Sasuke speaks up again. Gently moving her head away from him and picking the both of them up to stand.

"I, Uchiha Sasuke turn eighteen tonight. I am of age to take a wife and have a family."

"Sasuke..."

Falling to both his knees, he let his arms drop to his side.

"I, Uchiha Sasuke have nothing to call as my property. No heirlooms to give you and no titles to pass. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide you with all that you need, but I will guarantee my love. My mind will think constantly of you and my heart will beat in sync to yours."

Sasuke placed her hand over his heart before holding both her palms against his own, like so many times before when they trained their nei-gong. Only, instead of converging their energy, he tried to send her all his love. Make her feel how deep his affections for her ran.

"If you let this body become your weapon. I shall protect you. The left arm your shield and right arm your blade. My love will always be upon you. Marry me, Haruno Sakura."

He can't remember a time where he has properly professed his love for her and he has never regretted it as much as this moment. He had laid his claim on her so roughly so many times before, with so many marks on her to prove his presence. Yet, he had not marked her heart with his words.

"I, Haruno Sakura, do not have the means to purchase a wedding robe nor the ribbon. But if you do not think that my bloodied sleeve is too dirty a thread to join the two of us... I shall be your bride."

Kneeling down to match his height, she kissed him softly on the lips, tracing the bristles of his stubble that formed a shadow on his handsome face. Nuzzling lower towards his neck, she lay butterfly kisses along the sides as he began to undress her.

In the one year that they have run away together, he has had her hundreds of times in hundreds of positions and hundreds of locations. But every time he sees her naked body under him it still leaves him breathless. Placing a hand at her opening and slipping a finger in, followed swiftly by another when he feels her around him - he can tell that she isn't wet yet. With the storm brewing outside and the bite of the cold air, he isn't surprised - but nothing had ever stopped him from wanting her. Pulling his hand out to hold onto his cock, he rubbed against her, pre-cum lubricating her entrance for him. Stroking her opening with his member, he let's her hold it in her hands, pumping it as her fingers teased along the sides, along each vein, his erection growing painfully tight.

"I love you, Uchiha Sakura."

They skip the teasing foreplay that both of them would normally cherish, and Sakura's hands instinctively rise to lock around his neck to connect him to her and he slips the hardened flesh within her effortlessly as he has done so many time before.

It starts out sweet and steady. Sasuke rocks against her. Deeply, angled upwards against her lining, before pulling out torturously slow. As if coaxing her to move her hips to react to him. Staring at his sinfully handsome face above hers, she admired his pale skin that touched her own, his dark eyes that looked only at her, and his rough hands despite the smooth skin. Hands that were touching her.

Wrapping her legs around him, she began pushing back. Blood pounding through her head, messing with her mind. Sasuke always had that effect on her. He was so hard. So warm inside her. Each time he fell back into her, she only felt herself going crazy with need. He was like a drug, her obsession. Need clawed wildly within her.

Sakura never felt so much in all her life. Her feelings were too big, too extraordinary, too exhilarating. And she felt so small. So insignificant. Like they were just mere ink smears against the whole of Jianghu's history.

The masculine body against her own feminine curves, the bumping and grinding intensified when Sakura urged her muscles to clamp down on him, bring them both to another level of pleasure as Sasuke thrusted deeper and faster into her. He was going so fast that she couldn't push against him any longer, along holding onto his shoulders, arching her back for a better position against the cold floor.

"Slow down, Sasuke." She tried to disturb the rhythm he had built, the rapid in-outs ramming into her as if to validate her presence while her nails dug crescent moons on his skin. But he only sinks deeper into her as whimpers and moans escape her. "Slow down slow down slow down!" The last word is shrieked out as she comes. Sakura thrashes in his arms because he remains relentless in his thrusting. Sasuke doesn't slow down and she had even tries to push him off her body to stop the convulsions taking over, while her numbing body urges her to hold onto him to restrain him.

Having tried to make her orgasm last as long as possible, he feels her contract and tighten around him. Finally stopped his wild thrusting when he feels himself nearing completion as well, Sakura wriggled away under him to relieve herself of the almost painful pleasure.

Placing his hand behind her head, fingers threading through pink strands to prevent her from hitting the ground, he kissed her. Gently, a lingering almost-fairytale kiss that left her drunk on him as he nibbled at her lips, tongue wrapping around hers with lazy, deliberate movements as they enjoyed the warmth of each other.

"You didn't listen to me."

"And I'm sorry."

Climbing atop him, she straddled his hips while she pushed his shoulders down, her breasts pressed firmly against his chest while she rubbed her sex against his own.

"Sorry isn't enough."

Sakura gently lowered herself upon Sasuke; then proceeded to rise and sink, rise and sink, with an ever-speedier motion. At first he held her hips, to try and guide them - control them. But when he couldn't, Sasuke let his fingers creep round her thigh to her buttocks. Mouth fastened over one nipple, sometimes finding the salt of her damp flesh, sometimes the deafening sweet pulse of her heart. He let her control everything before he comes. Warm liquid spilling into her as their come mixes together; the clear view of their joining makes him even harder as he lets her ride on him.

Their wedding is a simple affair where they only exchange vows and consummate their marriage, but it gives them both a new purpose and new hope in their previous journey of nothingness. Instead of running and running, they were truly free to seek a new home within the heart of their lover.

xxx

Root fighters chase them through the woods that they have built a small cottage in, and it's a race to return to the Konohagakure caves.

For the past five years they had lived a quiet life away from the sublimity of the world of wushu. Even within the Jianghu, Konoha has faded into fables and Sasuke and Sakura are myths that warn young disciples of the dangers of love. However, with the rise of rouge missionaries in order to raise money, stray - past - warriors of Konoha and other sects that have been overtaken by evil energy have turned to Danzo in order to make a living.

Blaming the two's 'inability to control childish teenage lust' as the reason for Konoha's downfall, they find a large bounty on their head. Danzo wants Sakura alive to unlock the cave's secrets with the seal on her forehead and Sasuke becomes a nuisance in his plans.

Peaceful times have rendered their abilities less powerful, but they are still legendary fighters and many do not match up to them, so their weaknesses are exploited as Sakura is targeted instead of Sasuke despite not being able to kill her. Intending to tire her out due to her lower stamina, they force her to stay grounded by cornering her at the trough of the hills, blocking her flight and destructive mid range attacks as the toppling mountains would likely crush even Sasuke.

"Sakura!"

Joining his wife, the two of them are a formidable opponent and none of the fighters can match up to them.

Summoning his thunder and lightning with nei-gong, they run through his blade as he cuts through the rogues cleanly, while Sakura spins wildly to create a vortex of protection for them to escape into the once abandoned caves. The red sleeves he loved watching so much, cut by the exerted pressure.

Neither expected that Danzo would appear, piercing them with poisoned needles at the entrance of their old home. It is an anticlimactic scene as they watch one after another fall under its bane, the toxins spreading faster with each movement as the grasp for breath while their chi is sucked out of them.

"We need to run." Sakura whispers to her husband, inching away from the secret caves. Without her presence, Konoha's secrets would be safe.

"Haruno Sakura. Stay and I shall give you the antidote for you and your shi-di. Give me the seal and you will stay alive after the next three sunrises."

"Run!"

Sasuke doesn't understand how she would rather protect Konoha than live, but he suspects that it is due to loyalty towards their shi-fu. They both owed Kakashi for their lives, just as they owed the rest of their sect for protecting them over the years.

xxx

He knows that the two of them are going to die.

Everybody eventually dies and he has accepted this fate years ago. Immortality is a lie told to the ignorant power hungry. Not many in their profession live to old age and he thinks - twenty three is honestly not bad.

Sasuke has already vowed that death would never cause fear within him at thirteen and he knows Sakura has done so even younger. But he has never sworn that the death of his lover wouldn't ignite fear.

He is selfish and greedy, Sasuke knows. He should be counting their blessings, thanking their ancestors and burning incense to greet them at this moment because they have allowed the two of them leave leave this place together, but at this moment, he only wants to curse the gods, and perhaps kill Itachi before he dies.

He does not want Sakura to die yet.

He knows it will hurt her, but she is young. She is powerful. She is everything a man would want and she could easily find another, one that properly deserves her. Perhaps a non-practitioner who could give her a peaceful life. She will be able to live with his death. But he may not be able to live with her's.

In the teenage years, they had once spoken of their deaths in macabre detail, planning their ideal funerals. Sasuke was adamant that his body went up in flames before his ashes were spread by her over the cliffs. He had always thought that his death would be before hers, but what irony it was that it would no longer go according to his plan unless he did something now.

Sakura had been torn between two funerals.

A sky burial - she had jokingly said that Garuda would become the most powerful hawk of the whole of Jianghu - but Sasuke had dissuaded her of it, stating he could not bear to see her body picked apart.

And...

And she had wanted a river burial, to be floated towards the ocean without a coffin because she refused to be locked away even in death.

But she would not be getting either just yet. He would save her no matter what. And if Danzo would not give them an antidote, he would find another way.

Knocking out Sakura had been heartbreakingly easy.

He had hugged her against his body, allowing him to strike the shiatsu point at the back of her neck. Whatever guilt he felt from watching her entire acupressure network crumpling in front of his sharingan was soothed by the facile assurance of her survival. He needed to find her the cure before his own body gave out and became useless.

"Orochimaru... Show me to him. I know that he's in here."

Orochimaru's second in command - a young looking man despite the gray hair. Through metal rimmed glasses, he took only one glance at Sasuke before leading him into the lair guarded the a huge serpent, spectacles hiding his eyes from Sasuke's view. The scalpels tied around his waist giving away his position as a healer for the snake lord.

"I heard that you have the cure for Danzo's poison."

The head of Otogakure sect was a mess of frail effeminacy. Black hair that looked dipped in ink and fool's gold eyes that could freeze hardened warriors, his skin was pale - peeling - and his arms fell limply at his sides. It was well known that they had been sealed by a past leader of Konoha before Kakashi's inauguration.

"I do. I have heard of you, Uchiha Sasuke. Can I presume that you know the price that you will have to pay for it?"

Sasuke didn't answer, opting to close his eyes and lying on the jade ice bed the medic led him to.

Chilling his senses. Numbing his body.

He had prepared himself for the exchange years ago without knowing how it would play out. As he vowed, his body was her's. His left arm her shield and his right arm her blade.

An arm was nothing in comparison to Sakura's life.

note.

Next chapter will complete this AU =]

Please excuse any grammatical mistakes in this one, I may come back to fix some of this as I wrote after three glasses of champagne and a cup of Irish coffee.