Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Undertale, some lines are from shitty horoscopes because they are awesome.
So…I was talking with someone and they mentioned an interesting idea…so here you go…Hope you enjoy.
RUINS
Her head was splitting. Sakura groaned, rolling over on something soft and spat out whatever was in her mouth. Sasuke…the last thing she remembered-
"Sakura-chan. Thank you."
Her words hadn't been able to reach him. Her hands balled into fists, and she suddenly noticed what she was crushing. She lay on a beautiful bed of golden flowers, soft and luxurious; several had had been trampled by her weight, more had been squeezed into broken twisted things by her hands. Had Sasuke put her here? A girl waking up in a bed of flowers after being put there by a boy? She would have giggled, but the memory was still stark in her head: Sasuke reappearing behind her in a whisper and then darkness. Sakura didn't want to admit it, but the thrill that had shot down her back at that moment hadn't been excitement. Being afraid of the one she loved…she bit her lip.
The very air smelled different. Gone was the wild, earthy smell of the Konoha forests, and instead it was musty and dusty, a very underground sort of smell. Where was she? Had Sasuke-kun done as she had asked and taken her with him after all? She sprang to her feet, spinning on her heels frantically to look for any sign of the Uchiha.
Apart from the small patch of grass she had been lying on, everything was stone and coated in shadow. Her heart sank involuntarily, for a girl who had grown up under the sky and surrounded by nature, these surroundings were stifling, but she had asked for this. She couldn't back out now.
"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was a croak, her hesitation sapping her volume. A corridor extended away, and she ran her left hand along the wall as she walked. If this was Orochimaru's stronghold, why was she still alive? Why were there flowers? This dark cramped underground corridor was what she expected of a traitorous snake, a frission of fear went down her spine as she remembered the Chunin exams and the terrifying kunoichi with the golden eyes. Absolute dread slammed into her stomach.
Swallowing felt like an achievement. She could do this. For Sasuke. If he aimed to get stronger, then she couldn't let herself get left behind. But she hadn't actually expected him to do this, some small part of her screamed in the back of her mind, he was meant to have listened, to have understood her feelings, or at the very least stayed in the village! They were teammates, weren't they?
There was a flower waiting for her past the door.
It was nothing like the flowers she and Ino used to make bouquets out of. Four feet tall, a twisted stem as thick as her arm holding up a white bulbous head framed by six golden petals. Bizarrely she relaxed. Alright, so the flower had a face painted on it, but she was used to overgrown vegetation.
Then the painted eyes blinked, it's smile stretched to something kind.
"Howdy!" Said the talking flower and Sakura had to fight a heart attack. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"
"Kai!" Sakura formed the dispel seal immediately. When had she gotten caught in a Genjutsu?
The flower made a little sound in response. "You're new to the Underground, aren't you?" She hadn't known flowers could sound concerned. "Golly, you must be so confused."
"You shouldn't still be here." Sakura blurted, what had she done wrong? Oh gods, was she clashing wills with Orochimaru already?
"Because you screamed?" The flower said dryly, "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here."
Genjutsu had different rules depending on the castor, she had heard stories of the masters being able to create self-consistent worlds and trapping their victims in there for years. But why would anyone wanting to hold her captive tell her the true rules? Paranoia flared its ugly little head, tightening its hold on her heart and chest like corset strings being tightened.
She slid a kunai from her pouch-…she still had her pouch? Wait. Kunai against a Genjutsu? What was she thinking?
"I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go." Was that her, or was that glee in the flower's tone? Her head snapped up-
White lightning blazed into existence, drawing a boundary box around them, large enough to move in, but getting too close hurt her teeth, and caused her bones to vibrate in their joints painfully. She retreated towards the centre.
The flower was frowning.
"Your heart." It said slowly, apparently considering every word. "You don't have one." Its stare turned predatory, its mouth dropped open in a smile that made Sakura wonder exactly how many rows of teeth it had. "Golly. You must be a worse monster than me, for you to not have a soul!"
"Enough." Sakura said firmly, standing her ground, letting the kunai drop into the flower's sight. "Let me pass. Sasuke-kun needs me."
The flower shrugged, a strange velvety sound. Little, white pellets, spinning so fast that they hummed a strange song blinked into existence.
"Why do you want to find him?"
"Because I love him." She said firmly, sliding into a defensive stance. This flower was her enemy, and it needed to be taken down, shannaro.
"You want love." Its mouth split open in a fanged grin. Sakura felt a coppery taste flood her mouth at the diabolical laugh. "So, you know how this works. Not your first time here? Here, have some of mine!"
They came at her, fast and sharp as shuriken. One of them grazed her hand, leaving a burning cold sensation behind.
"This boy." The flower drawled. "If he came down here before you, he's dead by now."
Her heart did a strange squeezing motion, half jumping into her throat. Liar! Sasuke-kun would never die to a Genjutsu! He was far too good to fall for such a trick. Anger made her quicker, her mind breaking down the projectiles' paths; she dodged, they weren't too hard to dodge now, and took the chance to throw her own attack, spinning between two pellets. The solid weight of the kunai slamming into plant matter and lodging was sickening.
Flowey glared at her, eyes icy, completely unhurt. The lightning barrier didn't as much as flicker. Her heart sank, was she meant to rip this thing apart with her bare hands for it to die?
"You can't attack until my turn is over!" It snarled, "For you to just ignore that…" Its eyes flicked to the blade in its stem, to where her heart would be anatomically, then to her face. A tendril snaked up and ripped out the knife, it clattered on the floor a few feet from her.
"Your determination must be something else." Its petals fluttered as if caught in a breeze, but Sakura would swear that there was no wind down here, where ever she was. "A creature without a soul with the determination to override mine…"
There was bloodlust in the air. There were nails driven through Sakura's feet, rooting her where she stood. She felt like if she moved an inch, she would be sliced into pieces and collapse into bloody cubes. This flower…was insanely dangerous. What else did she expect from a figment of Orochimaru's or his henchmen's imaginations.
How did she fight Genjutsu when she couldn't break it?!
Flowey smiled suddenly, sweetly, with a lovely set of dimples. The sudden change from menacing to genial made every single instinct crawl down her back screaming. "This is interesting! I really want to see the choices you make! Hang around for a bit! She'll be through soon enough. See you around, I'll be keeping an eye on you." It winked at her.
With a laugh, the flower jumped, and the ground opened up to swallow it whole. The barrier faded away. The only thing that marked its presence was the stinging pain on her left hand, and the fading sound of its laughter.
That was when the goat came in and some small part of Sakura's internal logic systems died.
…..##########################################################...
"Oh, you poor thing. Running into that awful creature already?"
Toriel's paws were as big as Sakura's face, softly furred and her regal silver colouring made her stand out in the dim purple light of the ruins. She had explained that she was the caretaker of the place, and that it had been a long time since she had had any guests.
Sakura found it hard to concentrate when the morbid image of having her head cracked like a duck's egg kept flitting through the back of her mind. Why should the lady have guests? Sakura thought spitefully, if the devil flower was going to kill them all the second they entered this place. It would have killed her too, except for an unexplainable reason it changed its mind. She didn't like having her life be played with in a mad thing's whims.
Toriel was twice her height, built like a brick wall, and if she had looked like anything else but a fluffy goat woman Sakura would have been far too wary to follow. Heck, some of the animals in the Forest of Death had been smaller; she could feel the solid strength in the woman's muscles, in the way she moved, and Sakura had no doubt that one careless backhand would break both her jaw and eye-socket.
Instead Toriel had wriggled a finger, and a small sprite of blue flame had floated down to rest on her icy hand and the cold had melted away.
She was far too…nice to be a trap. Sakura hoped that she hadn't made a mistake. Most of the higher enemy nin she had met had never bothered with trying to get her guard down, especially when she was so weak and the disparity in strength between them was large enough for them to not waste time.
Neither the flower nor Toriel had used hand signs for their jutsus. Also, the pain she had felt should have snapped her out of any Genjutsu. Sakura swallowed, she didn't know what was going on. This couldn't be real, this place with the murderous flowers and the giant goat women, but what was the point of this illusion? What did they want? She knew nothing important… anything she knew, Sasuke knew also and Orochimaru could just ask him.
The shadow of the ruins loomed above, filling her with bewilderment. Leaves, red as blood, lay in piles at the sides and in the courtyard. Pale marble stairways led to the same door.
"Where am I?"
"My child." Toriel said, blinking. "You are in the Ruins. Did you hurt your head in the fall?"
"I didn't fall." She whispered. Sasuke-kun had knocked her out.
"You must have." Toriel's eyes were beetle black and just as bright. "All the humans down here fell." She turned away quickly. "This is your new home, innocent one-"
"I have a home." Sakura's voice was more waspish than she had intended. "I-" And she had left it behind for Sasuke-kun. Her mouth dried up.
"Never mind." She said, "You were saying?" Perhaps it would be wise to find out more about this strange place.
Toriel eyed her with subtle concern. "The Ruins are full of puzzles." She swept a large arm at the switches set into the floor, the plaque and the locked door. "Ancient fusions between diversions and door keys."
"This place was abandoned." Sakura started to put the clues together. "Diversions against an enemy? Against who?"
The woman's teeth were small, sharp and shone prettily in the light. Her floppy ears shook a little in laughter. "You're a sharp child, aren't you? Don't they teach history in the human world anymore?" Disapproval winked in her words.
Yes, Sakura had just somehow managed to miss the one lesson on whatever weirdness this was. But she didn't need to ask. All the humans fell down here? At the mouth of an abandoned city designed to slow down people who didn't know its tricks? The flower's behaviour made much more sense if it was a guardian for the city against potential invaders. Was it sentimental memories which made these two stay? Were they sweet?
"Us."
Toriel paused.
"The war was a long time ago. We should not blame current members of our generations for mistakes in the past."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. It was a sweet thought, but she imagined Iwa ever forgiving Konoha and vice-versa for the casualties and the atrocities in the wars and thought she had a better chance of winning against Orochimaru.
The way Toriel called her human…
"Did someone else come down here recently?" She asked, "Dark haired, my age, pale?" But the woman was already shaking her head.
"The last visitor I had was a very long time ago. It is possible that I missed them on my rounds, but they cannot leave the Ruins without me knowing."
"Would you please mind checking?" Sakura paused, "This person is very dear to me, and it would answer so many of my questions."
Toriel drew herself up, regal and straight backed, and nodded once. "Stay here. Without explanations, these puzzles may be too dangerous." There was a dark grey block of plastic in her paw. "Here. You may call me on this if you run into trouble. Stall, and I will come save you."
A flush of shame spread across her cheeks like a blush. Did she need saving wherever she went? This lady did not even know her to call her weak. Did Sakura just radiate that impression? Was it the hair? She fingered the jagged ends.
So, when she smiled and lied through her teeth to the lady who had been nothing but kind to her, she justified as it being expected of her, as a kunoichi in training. Truthfully, she just felt rather empty. Toriel might not even be real. This was not a promise to feel guilty over breaking.
…#############################################################...
The first puzzle was barely a puzzle at all.
She had solved harder in the Academy. The next puzzle didn't even need to be solved. Sakura took the spikes at a running jump and tensed for the follow up trap to activate. Surely there was one? That couldn't be it? That was barely a defence at all!
She barely spared the dummy a glance as she continued.
Blinding white light engulfed her so suddenly, that Sakura nearly ran into the barrier. Where had-? What? The flower? Again?!
"I'm warning you." She snarled, gripping the kunai tighter, as the white blob hopped to face her, each bounce shaking the ground and throwing up dust. "I-I'll tear off your petals one by one and shove them down your throat if you bother me again."
Well done, she congratulated herself sarcastically. That was believable as hell. The creature dwarfed her, and she was supposed to tear off the petals- wait. That wasn't Flowey. Sakura gaped, then clicked her jaw shut. A giant white frog looked mournfully at her, its bow shaped mouth sloping gently into a frown as it trembled.
She had frightened it…how?
It leapt.
Sakura dove out of the way, as it landed where she had been, cracking the ground into broken concentric circles. The shock of the creature's landing made her over balance, and she rolled away gritting her teeth. Okay; giant frogs who would crush her to death; okay, she could handle this.
She turned her roll into a controlled skid, arcing around the white beast, and came at it from the back before it had the time to turn. Its skin was soft, and made squelching sounds under her sandals, and it let out a surprised ribbit. Applying far too much chakra to her feet made her blast off, somersaulting in the air, positioning herself just right so that on the descent she could slash at its face.
It screamed in pain, skin smoking and burnt and oh gods, she could see the wet redness underneath, but it was far too late to consider mercy as her blade passed through its face like a rake through mud. It was an immediate reflex to go for the tendons in the legs when she landed, but the frog exploded into a giant cloud of dust.
She blinked, eyes gritty, the sparkling particles glittered like glass. The barrier flickered out.
It had…died from just that? She had been expecting it to be as tough an opponent as the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, but this was just…
She was still on edge, her heartbeat a war song in her ears.
Sakura inspected the grains, but they too were disappearing, collapsing into smaller pieces of light and dust, until the smallest breeze scattered any evidence that a creature had died here a minute ago. There had been death in the forest; bloody and visceral, heavy bodies in the filth; those deaths had felt like they had weight. Glassy eyes, waxy sunken skin, congealing blood: gruesome evidence screaming in her face that those young genin had not died well. She did not know whether this beautiful display was better or worse.
But Haruno Sakura was a kunoichi of the Leaf, and she did not mourn the death of animals.
Toriel is a goat and no less sentient than you. Her mind whispered. The flower was intelligent. Who are you to call them animals?
She shook her head hard, swallowed once, very confused, and ran over the water, bypassing the spiked bridge.
One thing was clear. Whoever these people had warred against hadn't been shinobi.
She wondered how Naruto would take the news that both his team mates had left. Well…at the risk of sounding harsh, she had been rejecting him for years, he should be used to it. Her teeth broke the skin on her lower lip. But she didn't need to be told, this abandonment was fundamentally different. She had been avoiding the word, that awful word that took her choices and cast them in an unforgiving damning light.
Traitor.
Her breaths were shallow. A hysterical giggle burst from her lips. Oh, she wanted to deny it; was it betrayal if she did it for love? But didn't she know that the worst betrayals occurred because of love? How would they even find her? Would they even know that she had left of her own volition or would they assume she was dead by Sasuke's hand and the corpse disposed? If she hadn't offered to go along, would he have-
No. Sasuke would never hurt her.
She laid her palm flat against the rough, purple wall.
This was no Genjutsu. There were no irregular flares or circuits in her chakra to cause this complete visual, auditory and tactile illusion. Every single one of her senses was telling her that this world was real, and Genjutsu couldn't hit that many senses without some very scary skill.
Her phone rang.
"Greetings, my child." Toriel's calm low voice washed over her.
"Toriel." She croaked. "I have to go back."
There was a long silence. Only the static of the connection told Sakura that the woman hadn't hung up.
"I think you should focus on the near future, child." Toriel said at last. "I realise that you came from the other world and must have a place to return to…but the Ruins are a safe place-"
"Safe?" She said in disbelief, "I've already been attacked twice! -"
"Twice?" Toriel interrupted, voice cool. "You did not call."
"Where I come from, we fight our own battles." Sakura snapped, grip tightening on the plastic case. "That is how we grow strong."
A sigh. Toriel sounded weary. "Is it so terrible to want to protect children from the cruelties of this world? You know nothing of this place, nor of monsters. Tell me, child. Is the second dead?"
"They collapsed into dust." She confirmed. "The frog."
"A Froggit." The word was a breath. "A harmless creature. A mere compliment would have had them on their way. Forgive me, this question may be insensitive, but it is becoming clear that you are no ordinary child. Is it so terrible to want to protect this world from your ignorance? Do you know what it is like to call out and have no one come?"
"I did not know." Sakura whispered. The plastic creaked under her grip. "They attacked me-"
"I do not blame you. Dropped into a strange world, chasing your love, ignorant of the consequences of your choices. I fear…My child…my naïve child…if you insist on fighting alone, strike up a conversation, talk to the monster, and all will be well."
"I will try." What a strange world this was. To treat violence with kindness and expect it to work. Brilliant blond hair and a sunny smile floated in front of her eyes, a phantom image, before she banished it.
"Good. As for what you asked me to do, the gateway bears no sign of use. Your love has not passed this way. I apologise."
"Have there been any deaths recently?" She asked light headed. If Sasuke hadn't come here, who had put her here?
"Not since the spiders crawled back frostbitten from Snowdin and succumbed."
"Because." She said, tone faux light. "If he had been through here, there would be a line of corpses up to your gateway Toriel. He wants to be strong, and he thinks fighting strong opponents is the way forward."
She wanted to horrify the woman. Mirror Sakura's own shock in the calm goat woman. Was that terrible of her? To try and make it so that she wasn't the only one whose emotions were storming.
There was an aghast silence. "And you love this boy?"
Sakura felt like weeping.
"Oh, my child. We cannot help who we love. I too have loved a terrible creature. I thought he was kind, and charming, and sweet but then…loss draws our true characters to the surface and he revealed his."
"What did he do?"
There was steel underneath the sadness in Toriel's voice. "Why do you think I want you to stay here? Here, in my domain? You are not the first to fall, no, they all came down here, and they all wanted to leave. Little fools. Asgore took their souls, each and every one. None of my children survive to grow up. It is a hateful curse… and one I hope you will break."
"He's not a monster!" Sakura cried. "Sasuke-kun is so strong! -"
"Strong." Toriel repeated, sounding mildly amused. The word fell into their conversation like a stone. "Not the word you use to describe a loved one."
Sakura opened her mouth furious. Kind- no she couldn't say that, it wasn't true-
"Cool! He's so cool, he knows what to do, what to say and-" Sakura struggled to find words to explain why she loved Sasuke. "…He makes me happy."
"…I will not tell you anything about your own heart." Toriel said. "You are the only one who knows how you feel. Remember, you are young, have you felt enough to know what love is? Experience more, then ask yourself again. If the answer is still that you love this young man, then I hope he is less terrible for you than Asgore was for me."
Sakura was very glad for the warning on Froggit, as she went through a doorway and suddenly found one on her left. Piles of red leaves carpeted the floor.
"You are an interesting child." Toriel said slowly. "So young, yet…you've seen darkness, haven't you?"
"I have seen nothing." Sakura answered honestly. Her childhood had been sheltered, her family safe, and she had friends. Sasuke's childhood broke her heart. Naruto's eyes grew tight every time she asked him about his. Kakashi barely had a childhood at all if the rumours she had heard about him were correct, thrown into the field at age five?! Who was she to claim that she had seen darkness and survived?
"Darkness comes in all shades of grey to pitch black." Toriel said comfortably. "Do not compare tragedy, my child. Each one is worthy of their own grief. Have you seen the signs I put up?"
Sakura blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Ah, yes?"
"Be brave. Only the fearless can proceed. And now, enough sombre topics..."
"Are you going to tell me a joke?" Sakura said, amused despite herself. Toriel was perhaps the only person so far to treat her like she understood adult matters while simultaneously protecting her. Oh, the goat woman called her a child, but how many adults respected children's choices and gave them genuine advice instead of just dictating what they should do?
"A joke? Heh, heh…ha-ha-ha. A friend of mine told me this one recently. Why did the skeleton cancel the gallery viewing of his skull-ptures?"
"Why?" Sakura leant against the wall and slid down next to the smaller Froggit. It didn't seem threatening and even swayed at her in acknowledgement. The leaves crinkled playfully, filling her with a brief spell of charm.
"Because his heart wasn't in it! Ha, ha, ha!-"
Sakura hung up, put her head in her hands and started to shake.
….##################################################...
The white thing with the flapping wings moaned at her. It hovered a few feet off the ground trading uncertain looks with the unfazed Froggit.
"Go away." Sakura told it, but the poor thing burst into noisy tears half way through her words and ran away in a flap of wings that sounded like leather cracking. Oh no. She actually felt bad now.
The Froggit croaked in laughter. "Excuse me human, I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you act in a certain way or fight until you almost defeat them…They might not want to fight you anymore." It blinked its large black eyes. "If a monster does not want to fight you, please…Use some mercy human. Ribbit."
There went the assumption that she had killed a dumb creature. Sakura gritted her teeth. It was difficult for her to fight without chakra, and chakra had proven to kill these weaker monsters in a single hit…mercy for her enemies? She may not have the luxury or the strength to provide any.
"Perhaps." She said softly, channelling Ino, cold and regal and composed. "They should not consider such actions whose consequences they cannot handle. Regret will not erase their mistakes."
Ino would have said it in a way that was both terrifying and comforting, poisonous in its carelessness and gentle in its delivery. Sakura had seen the girl practice her smile in the mirror until the slow, subtle smirk was the right mix of sadistic and grim. The best Sakura could do was distant apathy.
The frog surveyed her with cool unreadable eyes and dismissed her with a sharp ribbit.
The room it had been passively guarding offered her candy in a ring of blood red leaves. Sakura turned on her heel and stalked out. No, thank you, she wasn't taking food from strangers left out in the open. How more obvious could the trap be?
A second Froggit was waiting for her. Oh? Had she struck a nerve in the first?
She spun the kunai in lazy circles. She didn't know where this reckless confidence came from, this desire to just move forward and damn the consequences. Perhaps it was all the warnings for her to be careful? Perhaps it was the knowledge that it was easy for her to win; for the first time since the Academy, Sakura felt strong.
"I've been told that complimenting you works." She shrugged, keeping a careful distance from the monster as she circled. What if this one was different? What if this one was strong and fast and caught her with its tongue? "I like your colour. I've never seen such an absence of colour in my life. Is it natural?"
The frog merely looked confused to why it was here. Had it understood her?
The ground shook as it jumped, but she didn't fall this time, twisting with the vibrations and dancing out of the way. It hadn't worked. How was it supposed to work if it couldn't understand her? Confused, she glanced at the first Froggit, that one had been able to understand her, right? These education levels were mildly baffling.
There were only five standard issue shuriken in her thigh pouch. They were cold, icy against the vulnerable skin between her fingers.
They glanced off the frog's side, it had turned too quickly for her to target the face, but the long scratches were hissing smoke. Chakra really was poison to monsters, Sakura narrowed her eyes, how much…and how long could she last on rationing her supply?
"Back off." She repeated. "I don't want to kill you!"
The barrier disappeared.
Was that all it took? She blinked, that was all it took? Wait, could it understand or not? Gods, she was confused. The red leaves crunched under her feet playfully.
Sighing and exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose, she moved on, her footsteps inaudible under the thumps of the Froggit slinking away. The next few traps were all simple to hop over.
Her foot broke through the floor, and she had to hurriedly slap a chakra-laced hand to the wall to stop herself falling into a trap. Probably spikes and a bear pit. Her heart was pounding, she hadn't been expecting to fall unawares to something of this calibre; gods this was embarrassing.
Wait. Why was she walking on the ground when she knew there were traps and spikes lying around for ignorant foreigners? Sasuke would never have made this idiotic mistake, cursing herself Sakura hung off the ceiling and strolled through the rooms.
For an abandoned city, there weren't too many choices in which direction to go.
…..########################################################...
"…hi…"
A pair of black sclerae with white irises and pupils glistened in mid-air. As a baffled Sakura tilted her head and hopped off the ceiling, the rest of the creature filled in, pale and ethereal.
"…sorry…. i just made it awkward, didn't i…...i thought you were a ghost with how you were ignoring gravity…. i'll just go…"
Pale wisps floated off the ghost like white fire, light refracted in strange ways through it, burning lines of harsh brightness and blurring the background colours with the softer colours of the rainbow.
Her heart was in her throat. Ghost. Only people who had died violently or in strong emotional states could leave a ghost behind. This one didn't seem like a candidate to die for a passionate cause with how it tiredly drooped and was slinking away. Ino had been wrong.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong-wrong-
"Please wait." She said, fascinated and highly unsettled. Her fingers curled as she dropped her outstretched hand.
Shinobi weren't spiritual people.
The old shrines were mostly abandoned at the edge of the city, just another territory of the invading forest. Less and less priests were trained for the rites, and less and less people would ask each year. The only reason Sakura could tell one crumbling statue from another was because it was useful for undercover work among foreign civilians.
There was, as far as Sakura could tell, one reason for this.
"…zzz" said the ghost. "….. sorry…... terribly tired… this floor looks comfortable…"
Targets didn't leave ghosts behind.
Sakura wasn't an idiot. She knew what they did. She knew the body toll in this profession. She also knew that figure was grossly manipulated, but even after all the assassinations, brutal murders, betrayals, wars, not one shinobi had ever confessed to meeting a ghost. Horror stories were told of the violent deaths some nin visited on their enemies but…Children dragged from under their parents' beds and stabbed to death until the corpse was just mincemeat didn't leave ghosts. Kekkei genkai carriers who had their brains dissected while still alive didn't leave ghosts. All the innocents caught in the crossfire, whose bones were never recovered didn't leave ghosts.
At some point, you had to think that there were no higher powers which allowed this. And if ghosts didn't exist, what was the reason for believing in the others?
The feeling making her knees weak was somewhere between awe and terror.
"You're amazing." She breathed. "Terri-" But she wasn't sure if she meant to say 'terrific' or 'terrifying'. "I've never met a ghost before."
"heh…" The ghost's mouth quirked minutely. "really not feeling up to a conversation right now. sorry…" The ghost's colour flared brighter despite his words though, and it seemed to be looking at her like expecting a nasty joke or a rebuttal. "…it's been a while since someone's been happy to see me…you're kinder than you look…"
She was a twelve-year-old with pink hair? Did she not look cute? Was it the forehead?! Clamping down on the alarm, Sakura fought to ignore that comment, it wasn't important right now.
Was he the remnant of a monster who had died in the war? Would he hate her once he found out she was human?
"oh… i should stop bothering you…you probably have better things to do than talk to me…-"
"No!" She blurted. "I don't, please don't go."
The ghost's strange inverted eyes shivered. "then can i show you something?"
White drops formed at his eyes, the tears quivering for a heart-beat before defying gravity and falling towards the ceiling. A top hat materialised on his head, rim up.
"i call it dapper-blook…do you like it?"
"Dapper-blook?"
"oh…i haven't introduced myself. my name is napstablook…nice to meet you."
"Sakura."
"oh, the strange flowers in the human world? toriel told me about them once…is it true that they get their colour from people painting them pink because they thought they were clouds and wanted to keep them on earth?"
"What." Sakura had never heard this. Well. Most of it was incorrect? "No. They just are?"
"like most things then…" Napstablook tilted his head and closed his eyes.
"Can I ask you something possibly really rude?" Sakura asked.
"sure… i don't care…"
She leant forward, "Is a ghost a type of monster, or are you the ghost of a monster?"
The white in the ghost's eyes shrunk to pinpricks, then swivelled back out to their normal size.
"the afterlife doesn't exist if that's what you're asking. once a soul is gone… i've never heard of it coming back. but then again…what would i know. i just make cds, watch metatton and run the family business…"
Napstablook surveyed her disappointed expression for a few seconds. "if this really fascinates you, ask alphys."
Her head quirked up. Oh? This was interesting.
"she's good with ghosts." A full body shudder went through Napstablook at that, but his voice remained even and tired. "the royal scientist would have to be i guess…oh well."
"Hold up." Alarmed, Sakura cut him off. "Royal scientist? This is a Kingdom? Scientist? So, she knows the most about this world, right? About how to get out?"
The ghost viewed her in unfazed apathy. "yeah…king asgore dreemur."
Toriel's monstrous ex was the King? She was the Queen of this Kingdom? ... Wow.
"you don't know a thing…" The ghost shifted, and suddenly the light turned him into a kaleidoscope, soft and bright, each colour flaring and dying in equal measure. "i knew you weren't a ghost, i didn't realise you weren't a monster too…you want to get out? everyone knows how to get out… but I suggest that you get past toriel first."
"Tell me." Sakura urged. What did she have to do? She'd known that Toriel would be against her leaving, but Napstablook was implying that she would be a significant challenge. This was not good…
But the ghost was shaking his head. "i usually come to the ruins because there's no one around... but today i met someone nice… and it's a good day. i'd rather not ruin it… sorry."
Sakura stared at him in mute frustration. So close. But at least she had a name on who to approach now.
"oh, i've talked too long." Napstablook sighed, "i'm probably boring you…oh well, see you around i guess…feel free to drop in if you get past toriel."
Before she could protest and work some more information out of the helpful ghost, he faded.
Punching a wall really hurt but it made her feel better. Toriel. Alphys. Asgore. She didn't know enough about this world and it was going to bite her in the ass sometime. She wrung her hand out and scowled.
….####################################################...
Did you miss it? Spider bake sale down and to the right. Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!
Sakura read the sign post again. Spider monsters selling spiders as food? Did this not count as cannibalism? Then again, spiders were known to eat their own, perhaps it was an instinct native to them.
The chamber holding the reported bake sale was small. Thick white cobwebs coated the edges and corners, but in the middle, where the sign post stood and the path leading to it was perfectly clear.
Spider Bake Sale. All proceeds go to real spiders.
In any other light she might have missed it, but the hazy purple lighting had darkened, and the streams of light reduced to only a few rays; in that light, there were shadows moving behind the silk. Something crawled down her spine, dragging an electric razor across her skin. The feeling of being watched, this awful feeling of having her skin peeled back and inspected… but it was still better than the damn Forest. She stood her ground, only spiders, the shadows were small-
Oh gods, she wasn't the food for the bake sale, was she?
"yOu SeEm LoSt, HuMaN." The hiss came from all around her. A thousand little voices speaking as one. "iT iS sImPlE. gOlD iN tHe WeBs AnD yOu WiLl GeT wHaT yOu PaId FoR."
"I have no gold." After Orochimaru, she should not tremble at spiders. Sakura steeled herself, stood up straight and made her voice as clear as possible. Now was not the time to be afraid.
"tHeN wHaT aRe YoU dOiNg HeRe? LeAvE."
Tiny voices took up the chant LeAvE, the unified symphony breaking until it all just sounded like a rustling mess.
"Wait!" She pulled out a crumpled note from her pocket, "Will this do?"
There was a suspicious silence.
"hUmAn MoNeY?" The spiders hissed. "mEtTaToN wOuLd PaY tO bLoW iT uP oN hIs ShOw…" The atmosphere suddenly changed. A rush of black carpet came pouring out of the walls, Sakura would have shrieked and ran away except that they were balancing huge trays of cakes and donuts and other baked goods.
"tAkE yOuR cHoIcE cUsToMeR." The voices sounded almost pleasant.
"Ah…no." Sakura didn't fancy biting into pastry and getting a mouth of spider guts. A larger hairy spider delicately took the note from her between its fangs and scurried off. "How about you tell me how to go back to the human world?"
Hissing laughter.
"aLmOsT iMpOsSiBlE tO dO sO." Was it just her or was that unease in that chorus? "nOt A qUeStIoN wOrTh YoUr MoNeY. aSk AnOtHeR." The glimmering trays retreated into the webs, riding the carpet. She could see herself reflected in that ocean of eyes.
"I'm asking this one." She said mildly, adopting Kakashi's careless manner.
"yOu GeT oNlY oNe QuEsTiOn CuStOmEr."
They were stalling. Why could she not know if everyone else knew?
"Tell me or give my money back."
The spiders clicked their fangs and rubbed their forelegs together in agitation. They scurried together, a writhing mass of legs and hair, the floor barely visible anymore.
"tHe BaRrIeR." Came the answer. "wE cAnNoT tElL yOu HoW fAr AwAy It Is. ThE cOlD tRaPs Us… It SePaRaTeS tHe WoRlDs. PaSs ThRoUgH."
She raised an eyebrow. "It's that easy? Pass through and go back?"
"pRoMiSe Us A tHiNg."
The room went deathly quiet. Not a single creature twitched, each eye focused on Sakura. She swallowed, what had she gotten herself into now? It wouldn't hurt to hear this and to decide later if the promise was binding?
"aNy SpIdEr YoU mEeT. yOu WiLl NoT kIlL."
Oh.
Shame made her tinier than the spiders.
They were worried about their own. Could she blame them? She'd already killed a monster and a spider was so much more vulnerable than a giant frog. All these pleas for her to proceed peacefully…did she really come off as that much of a threat? It had been an accident. But perhaps that was what was so frightening…murder on accident, they were afraid of her. Bile rose to her throat. What had she been thinking? They just looked like animals, but these were all just essentially civilians. She was a kunoichi, not a murderess. Kakashi would be ashamed, her parents would be ashamed, this was not right.
She ran her hands over her scalp and gripped her hair tight. The pain helped focus her mind back from the swirling sadness.
"Of course." Her voice was a whisper. "I'm not a m-" Bad choice of words. She cut herself off.
"a HuMaN aNd A mOnStEr SoUl ArE nEeDeD tO pAsS tHrOuGh ThE bArRiEr."
Ah. Dammit. So that's why they were worried. Death was a necessity if she was to go home. Her teeth scraped against each other.
You must be a worse monster than me, for you to not have a soul!
Forget the monster soul, she might not even have the human soul component. But she had to have one? Chakra was part spiritual energy and that was produced by the soul? What even was a soul anyway?
"Thank you." Her courtesies kicked in after a few seconds of her mind spinning cogs. "You have been very helpful!"
"cOmE aGaIn." The spiders chorused. It sounded like a warning.
She was a bit too much in shock to manage the ceiling trick, so she walked through the grand yet overgrown corridors. It was desolate, tinted lilac and lavender. The ruins were a beautiful place, she would admit, but lonely. Toriel wanted her to stay here forever? Her spirit would die after a few weeks.
Pulling out her phone, she hit the redial.
"I need a monster soul to cross the barrier." She said in lieu of hello.
Toriel made a humming, sighing noise. "Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?"
"Toriel." Sakura said sharply. "You made me promise not to harm a monster while knowing I needed their soul?"
"Did you expect me to tell you to have a merry harvest?" Toriel sounded distracted.
…Fine. So, the woman had a point. Sakura glowered at the ground.
"Cinnamon or butterscotch?"
"Cinnamon." Sakura gave up puzzling the motive behind that question and conceded. How long had it been since she had eaten something?
"Thank you." Toriel said mildly. "You do not dislike butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?"
"I don't know if I have a soul Toriel." Sakura's lips felt numb.
There was a long silence before the woman laughed.
"Everyone who is living has a soul, child. It is the very essence of your being."
"The flower-"
"The flower lies." Toriel's voice had gone queerly hard, but it regained its kind tone quickly. "Do not worry about it. I think that this discussion should be done in person, don't you?"
Sakura raised her hand half-heartedly, then dropped it with a sharp smack. "If that's what you think best, your highness." Ah…perhaps sarcasm hadn't been the best idea.
"Just Toriel will do." The woman sounded slightly sad, before the dead dial tone clicked.
…################################################################...
The intellectual in her was screaming, but every time Sakura came across a puzzle she walked up a wall, over it on the ceiling, and back down. She was making steady progress, if very bored.
A giant carrot squawked at her to be healthier, apparently kids weren't meant to be so light that they floated on the ceiling. That made her smile at least.
"You're breaking the rules."
Sakura leapt back almost five feet with shock. The voice had been right next to her!
Flowey grinned at her, sprouting out of a random tile in the ceiling, petals furling and unfurling like a giant fist.
"Flowey." She narrowed her eyes at it, "Try to kill me again and I'll smear you across the ceiling."
The flower cackled madly. "I saw what you did with the stupid frog! I'll believe that you just might be able to do that to little old me!" His eyes glittered like the glinting edge of a kunai. "What are you calling yourself this time, anyway?" His stem twisted, and he leant in, each dangling tendril as thick as her wrist.
"Sakura." Her voice was sharp, but she didn't move to attack. If it was that Flowey was a gate guardian of the ruins, then she couldn't blame him for doing his job and trying to take out a human. But at the merest flicker of white, she'd lodge a chakra filled kunai between his eyes. She didn't think Toriel would mind.
The flower's mouth twisted into a mean grin. "So. You remembered there were flowers. I never did find out what they were called."
What?
"Oh." Flowey said dismissively upon seeing her tight expression. "Too early, I guess. My bad! Let me give you some advice Sakura!"
"Will it lead you attacking me like last time?" She asked dryly.
He laughed. It was almost a genuine sound. "Dozens of years of being alone." Flowey said gently. "Can you blame me if my ability to tell friend from foe got a little rusty?"
The old nin around the village, the ones that survived to retirement wore similar walls in their eyes and guards in their smiles. Too used to surveying their friends in distrust, too used to the feeling of a knife against their bare skin, too used to walking alone because all the noise, the people, the variables in a crowd was just too much, and if they weren't careful the white buzzing in their mind would get louder and louder-
Sakura swallowed, and wondered how long Flowey had been alone.
She wondered how many monsters would dare befriend a creature when their Queen publicly scorned them.
"Sorry." She inclined her head. "Go on."
Flowey's smile widened: "You can't beat Toriel in a fight if she feels strongly about the outcome. You can't. Heck, Asgore couldn't do it! But I've been watching you…you may not have a soul, but you have something similar but it requires physical contact, am I right? Either directly to the skin, or indirectly through a weapon?"
"How did I not see you?" Her heart was thudding in her ears. Was she genuinely blind? This was a giant flower almost her size, and she'd missed him picking up this much information? That was at least two fights he'd spied on. Thank gods she hadn't used any jutsus.
He shrugged modestly.
"She's the one telling me not to get into fights." She pointed out. "Telling me to act peacefully, she won't fight me."
"Perhaps you know her better than me. You might be right." Flowey said, eyes half lidded, smile slight. "Or perhaps you don't know her at all. Would you rather be prepared or be wrong?" His smile vanished completely now. "Seven human children fell into this world. Every single one of them died, and in our world coming back from the dead is incredibly difficult, as you might know." His voice gained a sarcastic edge. "She knew each and every one! Don't fall into the same trap."
Sakura viewed him with heated suspicion. "She said Asgore killed them."
Flowey pursed his lips, a move that looked odd on a flower, and said, "Did she say that he killed them or that he got their souls?"
Ice slid down her back. "Ar-are they not equivalent?"
The flower viewed her with pitying amusement.
It was pretty clear that Toriel thought Asgore was a monster, or was that a trick? She didn't know anymore, over the phone it was easy to fake lies but the emotion had been so raw? All her advice had been good, the woman was kindness incarnate. But she'd already manipulated Sakura once, and kept information from her.
"She's not a bad person." Sakura said slowly and was met with a scoff.
"Of course she's not a bad person! What are you, an idiot? She just loves the wrong person."
"She doesn't love him anymore."
Flowey laughed in her face. "You are an idiot! Unlike her! I wish you'd work a bit quicker!" He shook his velvety head. "Tell me, if someone you loved did something unforgiveable, wouldn't part of you still keep loving them not matter how terrible it was?"
Her heart squeezed so hard that she felt the thump in her mouth. Pain radiated from her chest, squeezing her lungs and throat.
"What if they had a good reason?" She asked quietly.
"That reason better be a damn good one to help you sleep at night!" His smile was crooked.
"Perhaps it was a mistake." Why was she making excuses?
Flowey tilted his head, "People have to face the consequences for their choices." He said frankly, "That incudes taking responsibility for them. Asgore is still King. He still has his castle, his subjects, his flowers-"
Asgore. Yes. They were talking about Asgore. "He lost a wife." She pointed out.
He looked away, "Maybe. I'm not so sure on that part. If she really cared about what he did-" She saw the peek of black as the flower shot her a sideways gaze. "Never mind. Whatever!" He said louder. "I've warned you! It's your choice to listen or not! Has she offered you food yet?"
The incredibly casual question almost passed Sakura by. What did he want? Just to warn her? Or to set her paranoia ablaze? She didn't know! She stared at the slumped flower trying to work out his game. For his part, Flowey didn't make it easy, the top few petals curling over his face as so hide his eyes. Only his downturned mouth could be seen.
"You're saying to be tricky if I ever fight Toriel." The flower perked up at the conversation's return to safe territory.
"I'm saying to hit fast and hit hard."
"I'm not going to kill her." Sakura's voice was queer. "I promised."
"Obviously." Flowey rolled his eyes. "Don't kill the Queen if you want the King to let you out. It's fine, you can spare enemies when they get to low health. They can't make trouble for you if they're indebted to you for sparing them."
This felt more natural: conflicting objectives and the way forward was a fight. She passed a cold hand over her face. Everything (her conscience) would be fine as long as Toriel lived, and Sakura was incredibly leery of her chances against the woman in combat. The chance of her winning…well, she couldn't measure up to the finalists in the Third Round of the Exams and this was going to be several levels above that.
The flower lies.
But nothing he said seemed to be a lie though! Which part was she meant to distrust? All his advice had been good, if on the paranoid side.
"Okay." She dropped her arms to her sides. "I will talk to her about leaving the Ruins and make her agree peacefully. If that doesn't work…"
"Yes." Flowey said sounding very bored. "I know. If that doesn't work, you'll fight to prove you're strong enough to handle threats until you leave. It's not like I haven't had this conversation several times before. Bye now, you're boring me. Your spirit is too kind."
He fell off the ceiling, roots sucking out of the tiles like a parasite being extracted and fell face first to the ground. Just before he turned into plant paste, it opened and swallowed him up.
Several times? And they'd still all died mysteriously? She really needed to figure out who had killed them and how.
….##########################################################...
Toriel was waiting for her by a giant tree. All its leaves had fallen, carpeting the ground. It looked like it had been struck by lightning at some point, gnarled and pitch black and twisted. The woman made a striking contrast to the black bark in her silver fur and rich robes. The wind tousled her robes gently, while making a mess of Sakura's jagged hair.
Already resentful of something neither of them had control over? This was off to a good start.
"Are you hurt?" Toriel rushed to her, "There, there, I will heal you."
Sakura let the older woman fuss, and spied the cute, tidy home past the tree. Two windows framed the mouth of a door.
"I should have brought you with me the first time. It was irresponsible of me to leave you in a strange place, but if what you said was true, speed was necessary." Toriel pursed her lips. "I apologise anyway. Come, child!"
Sakura followed her into the house and hesitated over taking her shoes off. It was the polite thing to do, but she didn't want to get into a fight or leave quickly without shoes…The house looked quite western, so she doubted that Toriel would take offence if she left them on.
"Do you smell that?" The woman said proudly, flitting from room to room, before coming to a stop in front of her, holding something behind her back. "I just had time to finish it. Surprise!"
The woman had baked her a pie? For her? The golden crust looked so nice and warm, the smell wafting off it was delicious. Her stomach growled, and embarrassed she covered it up by speaking.
"A cinnamon-butterscotch pie?" Sakura asked, smiling. "Thank you very much."
"I thought we might celebrate your arrival." Toriel set the pie down and shot her a warm smile. "I want you to have a nice time living here."
Oh Toriel…
The woman must have seen her reaction on her face because the woman's smile faltered slightly.
"Why don't we discuss your concerns over hot chocolate, child?" Toriel's fingers were twisted around each other in a complicated knot. "And wait for the pie to cool."
The living room was pleasantly warm from the crackling fire, a bookcase held history books, and a Toriel sized arm chair emanated comfort from every soft bulge. Sakura took a seat at the dining table, fingering the petals of the unfamiliar flowers as Toriel set two large cups of steaming hot chocolate between them.
"It would be best if this was your home now, child." Toriel said gently. Sakura tried the chocolate and wracked her brain to remember what tastes could be put in hot drinks to hide the bitter taste of a sleeping drug. "Beyond the Ruins, I cannot keep you safe."
"I see." Sakura said evenly, sorry for the thing she was about to do. "Then who's going to be the one to tell my mother I won't be coming home?"
Toriel jerked back as if she had been slapped. "Ch-child-" Her eyes squeezed shut and her lips peeled back, "That's not-" Then the woman pulled herself together, "I'm sure your mother would prefer you be alive and lovedthan you die far from home, lost and alone." Pain spasmed across her face, and her lips disappeared from how tightly Toriel was clamping them together to keep her composure.
"You keep saying I'll die." Sakura didn't know how to feel about that. Was that a legitimate assessment of Sakura's strength against her potential enemies or the attempts of a loving mother figure to keep her 'child' safe? "How did the others die?"
Toriel shook her head tiredly. "Asgore's creatures got them probably. I do not know the exact details, I just know that after a while when I called them, he picked up the phone."
"To gloat?"
"I do not know." Toriel said coldly. "I hung up and fed the phone to a Loox."
Well. It didn't seem like she still loved him?
"I can't stay, Toriel." Sakura insisted. "I have a village to get back to, friends I need to see, we were just invaded you know…I need to know that they're still ok. I have a duty to do my best to return if I'm still capable or I'm a -"
She cut off her train of thought. For some reason, all these reasons had ceased to matter when she had offered to go with Sasuke. That had been a mistake, she should have tried harder to get him to stay, that they could be stronger as a team- but she had always been the weak link of the team, always being protected- perhaps it was her fault that Sasuke thought he had to leave the village to get stronger because she was holding him back all this time.
No wonder he might not have taken her with him. Who would take their load when they were trying their hardest to leave it all behind?
She needed to return to Konoha. And together with Naruto, they'd have to show Sasuke that they were strong and that together Team 7 could take on anything and win. Her hands curled into fists on the table top.
Toriel set her cup down. "Do you know why we live down here? No? The barrier, that you're trying to get to, keeps us all here. As you found out, child, to cross takes a human and a monster soul, but to break it…it takes seven human souls."
The hair on the back of Sakura's neck stood up.
Vengeance. Justice. The war.
Toriel dragged her finger over the grain of the table, expression distant. "Asgore has in his possession, six. His dogs hunger for when they can take their revenge on the humans for trapping us down here. Do you understand now? Should you fall, the consequences are far more than just your death."
Oh.
Oh, this was a bit more serious than she had thought. It wasn't just Toriel being overprotective.
"I thought seven humans fell?" She blurted, mind a muddle.
Sakura was privy to see every single muscle in Toriel's face lock. "Six since Asgore declared war. The first human…." Her voice broke, "Chara… Their tragedy started all this…You are a very resourceful child, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry." She looked away, ashamed to bring up old grief.
"I don't want to call you and hear his voice reply." Toriel said. "I don't want him to break the barrier and have the monsters rush out and die all over again. We lost the first war, most of the monsters won't remember how awful it was…humans have such strong souls…not enough on our side could do enough damage…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "They don't remember, everyone will pay the price."
Why was the room so cold when the fire was blazing?
"Are you sure I have a soul?" Sakura stressed, fingers tightening on the handle of her mug. "Flowey took one look at me and declared that I did not."
Toriel reached out a hand.
Sakura's body turned transparent, limbs made of cold, clear glass, refracting light in brilliant glittering flashes. Red swirled around her chest, like a bloody storm, like ink dropped into water, until the shape of a symmetrical heart formed, stark and dark.
"That, my dear." Toriel said quietly, "Is your soul. Now put your worries to rest."
As she retreated her hand, colour flooded back into Sakura's skin, sealing over the beautiful sight with pale skin and clothes and flesh. She discreetly wiped at her eyes and the woman pretended to be fascinated by the fire. For several long minutes, neither of them spoke; Sakura digesting and Toriel lost in her thoughts.
Those who can't put their destinies on the line…the pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices don't have the right to become chunin.
There really was no doubt to what she should do.
Sakura pushed the empty cup to the middle of the table.
"Thank you for taking care of me." She slid out of her chair and bowed. "But my precious people are waiting for me, and I was not raised to run away from difficult situations."
Toriel's claws tapped on the table: "And if I do not let you go? If I decide that my people and your life are more important than a child's wish to throw it away on a suicide mission?"
Sakura let her silence do her talking for her.
The woman pushed her seat away from the table. "You wish to know how to leave, do you not? You are correct in thinking that you will need my permission to do so. Come. Let me show you something."
…#############################################################...
The basement was cool, dark and muffled any sound from above. The way it absorbed the sound of her footsteps was disconcerting.
"Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins." Toriel pointed down the stretch of corridor. "A one-way exit to the rest of the underground." She exchanged a look with Sakura, and the girl had a sudden feeling of doom. "I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Please, believe that I do this in your best interest."
Sakura reached out, struck mute, and caught the woman's hand. The fur was incredibly soft, and she could feel the strength behind each finger. Toriel slid it away as she walked off, noiseless towards the exit.
She was trying so hard to settle this peacefully. Frustration at the situation overwhelmed her momentarily and she suppressed a scream by biting so hard on her lip that blood dripped down her chin.
"You naïve child." Toriel said, not looking at her, when Sakura broke her sprint to catch up. "Do you think you are strong enough to take on the might of the underground and win? Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."
Then they were at the exit and Sakura was out of time, no, she didn't want to attack from Toriel's blind spot, she just needed some more time to convince her-
The same rune that adorned the woman's robes was stamped on the great stone doors. They looked too heavy for her to open alone, thrice her height and detail work was picked out in black precious overlay. Sakura knew she was being selfish, knew that she was taking a tremendous risk, but what else was she supposed to do? Roll over and give up, say oh, is that so and be content with not giving her all?
"How do I prove myself to you?!"
Toriel stopped, the blue light at her fingertips winking out. "You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just terrible. There is only one solution to this. How to prove yourself? Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive."
The walls blazed white, bright and high, the barrier snapped into place and Sakura felt her heart plummet. She had failed, it had escalated to violence, and now she was facing a deadly opponent.
Hit hard, hit fast.
Toriel blocked the way to the door, arms at her sides.
"Bunshin!" Two copies of her flickered to life, on her sides, each gripping a blade. Toriel's eyes went absurdly wide.
Left went right, Right went forward, and Sakura went left. Hopefully that chaotic crossover had made it unclear which one the real one was.
They got to within a foot of Toriel before the woman recovered and flung a barrage of fireballs as big as her fist in a huge arc. Sakura aborted her attack mid swing, nearly tripping over her own feet, and dove to the ground. Even then some flame caught some hair and she had to swat it out. She lashed out with the kunai as she hit the ground and rolled, catching a glancing blow up the woman's calf who kicked them away.
Bright spots were dancing in her eyes. Her clones had vanished, even if they hadn't the heated air would have made it obvious which were illusions, and which was real. Fireballs, huh? She hated opponents with range.
"Bunshin!" This time the wavering rippling Sakura leapt at Toriel, the colours distracting the woman to the sneak attack from behind. The shuriken took the woman in the shoulder, hip and arm, chakra charged of course but she couldn't see any visible damage. Sakura sidestepped, yanked on the wire, and ripped them out, the shuriken attached to the wire like deadly yoyos.
Fire blazed, pure and blue.
Sakura swore and dropped the wire, the shuriken clanging as they hit the stone. Blister lines were forming on her palm. She ducked out of the way of the wheeling circles of flame that Toriel directed at her. Everyone knew to fight a ranged combatant up close, but fire, damn that element, worked equally well at close and long range. Glowering, Sakura tried to think of a plan. She couldn't afford to throw her chakra around and have it wasted.
She threw one of her limited kunai, straight as an arrow, textbook perfect.
Toriel half shifted, letting it skim the fur on her ear.
Sakura's left foot contacted the woman's forearm a second later. The woman threw her off, but she flipped above the woman using her kick as a lever. She landed in a crouch and lashed out at Toriel's ankles. Her target kicked out, but Sakura dodged seeing the movement ahead of time, sliding a second kunai out of a thigh pouch and going straight for the neck, the blade concealed in her palm.
At the same time, she yanked on the wire she had attached to her first kunai, and it came rocketing at the woman's back. Sakura twisted inside the woman's defence and got ready to do some damage.
A thunderous shot rang out and Toriel suddenly jerked her head to the left, eyes flicking between Sakura, uncomfortably close, and the exploding sealing tags Sakura had laid before her attack. So, she had been right: no fuinjutsu existed in this world.
Bang.
The woman's hand lightly grasped Sakura's wrist from the side and twisted, so that she ended up being spun around to the other side, in the path of her own sneak attack. Toriel's grip was light but it was clear that Sakura wouldn't be able to break it without help. Luckily the woman seemed to abhor physical combat and let go of her quickly.
Immediately, she let the wire slip through her fingers, until it hung in the air, gleaming in a bright, blinding loop, and it fell over Toriel's shoulders and neck like a noose and Sakura caught the knife, dropping to the floor, so that the chakra charged wire cut into the woman's neck.
Toriel gasped.
Sakura spun on her knee, ducking low, snarling low and quiet in her throat, as her instincts screamed at her to move.
The fireball erupted inches from her face, and she felt the heat on her face as she rolled away. Gods, that was close and terrifying-
This close? Sakura threw the kunai at the woman's face. She was so close that she could see individual eyelashes. Toriel took the gash with a quiet dignity, hand slapped to her cheek.
Two hands formed out of flame, bone structure in white and flesh in blue, appeared, rising behind Toriel like a set of hellish wings. They grabbed for Sakura, who yelped at this new trick, and backpedalled so hard that she nearly ran into the barrier. Sweat tricked down her hairline and into her eyes.
Luckily, they dispersed into smoke after a few more half-hearted swings.
Toriel sent another barrage, but the distance must have been affecting her aim because most of them wouldn't even have hit Sakura if she had stood still. She'd barely covered half the distance between them before Toriel shook her head quickly and made fire rain from the ceiling. The way they separated forced Sakura to stay where she was and weave in order to dodge.
She had three precious exploding tags left, bequeathed to her by Kakashi who had adamantly refused to give any to Naruto, boy explosion extraordinaire, or to Sasuke, fireball addict. Scrunching them into a tiny ball, she lobbed a kunai at Toriel followed by the tags but too late-
Explosion tags were meant to go off when the trigger ran out of time and were meant to be detonated one at a time or people would lose limbs. Sakura essentially lobbed a mini grenade straight into a fireball and the resulting explosion picked her off her feet and slammed her into the back barrier. The world went white, then red, then black, before the purple came floating back. Her ears rang. Her knees were shaking so bad.
Toriel's breathing was ragged, robes scorched, on her knees by the exit. She had hoped the force of the explosion would have made the kunai do a bit more damage than usual, but the woman shook herself to her feet. Had it done nothing? Had she wasted her tags on a useless attack?
Then Toriel staggered, a glint at her chest reflected a beam of light straight into Sakura's eyes, blinding her.
No. No, no, no, no, no-
A knife protruded from between Toriel's breasts. The woman reached up to touch a shaky hand to the wound, but all that was leaking was dust. Like Toriel was a stuffed bear and Sakura had ripped her open.
It hadn't meant to kill her. Sakura's hands were shaking. Everything was shaking, the tags had affected her balance. What were the chances of the kunai being propelled to such a lethal spot?
"Urgh." Toriel couldn't keep her balance either and went sprawling to her knees. "You are stronger than I thought…"
"Toriel!" Sakura's head betrayed her, her footing gave, and she smashed her jaw off the ground. The woman chuckled but it turned into a grimace of pain.
"I didn't believe you had a chance…" Toriel's voice was tight, "Listen to me small one… If you go beyond this door, keep walking as far as you can. Eventually… you will reach an exit." She broke into a fit of gasping and wet coughing. "Asgore. Do. Not let. Him take your soul. His plan…" The woman shook her head firmly, choking on her words, her meaning still clear.
"You can't die!" Sakura applied pressure on the wound, but she didn't know! More and more dust spilled between her fingers, "You can heal, you've healed me, now do it to yourself."
Toriel was growing weaker, her head shake barely a twist of her neck. "Can't…"
Why had she never learnt medical jutsus? Sakura stared in horror, growing desperate, Toriel, whose only crime had been to try and keep a lost human child safe…she couldn't die like this.
"Never fought someone like you." Toriel's voice was faint. "Never seen…someone like you. Pathetic, isn't it? …I cannot even save a single child."
She had promised to show mercy. Sakura cupped her nose and her mouth with her shaking fingers.
"Be good, won't you? …" The woman smiled slightly, closing her eyes. " d."
The dust from Toriel's chest glittered like glass. Without warning, she disintegrated into a pile of dust and light, top to toes, and dispersed in the wind. The kunai clattered on the floor. Sakura was numb. It had been an accident, she didn't want this- gods, how useless was she?
A white heart formed shivering above the space Toriel had been. Shaking and spilling white dust, the upside-down heart cracked clean in two and ricocheted into shards of light.
The soul? Had she just destroyed the soul?! This death felt different to the others…she had liked Toriel, and then she had murdered her. Sakura threw up in her mouth slightly, choking on the acidic taste. She hadn't thought she'd react this way to her first proper kill, but her chest was twisting and shrinking on itself.
Slowly, the turmoil turned to ice. She stood and noticed that the doorway was mysteriously wide open. Great. Even the place wanted her to leave. Sakura strode through the doorway, not trusting herself to look back.
…..#############################################################...
The corridor was long, and low, with the light levels slowly getting brighter and brighter as she walked.
Walking into the cavern at the end, however, plunged her back into darkness. One small circular spot was lit by light streaming from some hole in the ceiling. Golden dust mites swirled in the air, the light cutting knives through the air.
Flowey was using it as a spotlight.
"Hee, hee, hee. I hope you like your choice. After all, it's not like you can go back in time and change fate." The flower's face was smug, "That old hag thought she could break the rules. She tried so hard to save you humans. But when it came down to it…" His face broke into a terrifying slash of a smile. "Hee, hee…hee… She couldn't even save herself! What an idiot!"
Sakura was already striding towards him. This would be justice, killing him with the same blade Toriel had died to. This bastard-
"Oh no, no, no." Flowey wriggled on his stem like a satisfied child. "You don't get to touch me. I know your trick!"
She barely noticed the barrier springing up. Her entire attention was taken up by that hateful plant.
Humming pellets surrounded her in a sphere, like she was trapped in a ball. The gaps were far too small to thread a kunai through. So. This was how he proposed to stop his death. Sakura's heart was ice.
"You tricked me into killing her."
The flower smiled. "Did I?"
"It should have been perfectly possible to talk my way out of the fight." Sakura's voice was dead. "But because I listened to you, I fought, and she died."
"Sounds to me that you're being irresponsible and blaming me for your mistakes!" He tittered.
Sakura lashed out and struck the kunai off one of the pellets. The harsh chime made even Flowey wince.
"I will get justice for her." She hissed, voice venomous, "When I will be done, you will be nothing but paste."
Flowey stared at her. "There is no justice." He said, voice bright with dark, sharp laughter. "There's just us. In this world, it's kill or be killed!"
On cue, her cage constricted, intent on ripping her to pieces. Was this the best he could do? Was it her turn to retaliate yet? His mad laughter echoed through the cavern.
She held up a seal. "Kawarimi."
Hearing Flowey's surprised hah turn into screams of pain was incredibly satisfying. He dissipated the attack almost immediately, and the barrier went with it, but the flower was in a sorry state. Trembling and hunched over, Flowey glared at her.
"YOU-."
Sakura took a step forward.
The flower's voice cut off mid-word hastily, pulling his own roots out of the stone as he scrambled back, eyes wide and fearful.
"I WILL SAVE YOU."
Sakura dove for him, sending chakra coursing down her ankles and tendons to get a massive burst in speed. Flowey nearly yelped, covered it up with a nervous sounding laugh, and hopped back into the earth from where he came.
She crashed into the earth and dirt, and lay there for a long time, the taste of blood in her mouth, just so tired.
Get up girl. People are waiting for you.
With a sigh, and a furious pledge to kill Flowey the next time she saw him, she got up, brushed herself off and turned to the massive, massive doorway at the back of the cavern.
A whole world to wander. She couldn't afford to make a single mistake now. Surely every single monster on the other side couldn't be working for Asgore. Surely, some with views like Toriel lived there too? Tracing her fingers over the door revealed the indents of the strange rune again. Oh well, no point in waiting when she couldn't prepare for what lay ahead.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura stepped through to the rest of the Underworld, leaving the Ruins behind.
:)