Disclaimer: I don't even have any OCs in this story, so nothing belongs to me, except the plot.
Five Kingdoms for the Dead
-Chapter Twenty-five-
The Tale of the Hime
She had hoped, somehow, to avoid this. Was it strange to wish to be in the bleakest desert imaginable, rather than a garden in which flowers from all seasons were in bloom? But it wasn't the setting. No, it was the man who sat across from her, a shallow dish of sake held at chest height, interrupted in its journey to his lips.
There was never anyone other than Haku in the Wastes of Despair, just Amanozako's heavy chains threading between the mindscapes. And Haku, even if he had not died so young on that bridge in Wave, would never project such intensity as Madara, whose simplest movements were still like violence, purposeful and direct.
She never saw any of the other planes now. It was like this garden was a black hole, drawing everything down into its depths. Or, rather, not the garden, but the man with the hellred eyes who sometimes made her feel as if she could crush the world beneath her thumb and at others made her feel like an uncomfortable girl on an arranged date.
"I haven't felt Amanozako since you showed up," Sakura said suddenly. "Why is that?" Because it was rather counter-intuitive, now that she thought about it. She had been able to feel Amanozako long after she had been sealed in the First Kingdom, yet here in the third she was silent.
Without taking a drink, Madara returned the sake dish to the table. "Because I am greater than either Orochimaru or Haku. I am a more cohesive personality, almost as dominant in this body as the original. But I have more control, which is why Amanozako's howls cannot be heard in this garden." He took in all their surroundings with an expansive wave of his hand, like a lord in his manor or a general on his battlefield.
Sakura was rather unnerved. Almost as dominant as the original? Well, that might explain his ability to go tramping about in her body like she was possessed.
"Where in the world do all of you come from?" Sakura muttered sullenly, taking a cautious sip of her own rice wine. She would have preferred tea, as always, but the table had already been set when she'd fallen through her perfectly pleasant dream into the Garden of Ruin.
"Your subconscious gives us shape. You choose me to be here, so all responsibility is upon your shoulders," Madara told her. "But you are not here because you desire knowledge. Your heart falters—you fear your plans will fail."
Sakura grimaced. It was impossible to truly hide things in her mind. "It is dangerous, doing something like this to Akatsuki."
"You make them sound like they are dark gods. They are only shinobi and will die as easily as any man."
"Sasori wouldn't have. And there are reports that make others among them out to be immortal."
"Immortal is not invulnerable. Even gods can be killed."
Yes, she could see where she might want this man's confidence, his easy and overwhelming power. Just as she had needed Orochimaru's ruthlessness and Haku's unflinching loyalty.
"Then I will succeed?"
She couldn't help but notice that his lashes were dark and thick or that his hair, rather than looking disheveled, reminded her of a lion's mane, his body held with that kind of feline grace. She had always had a weakness for Uchiha men, it seemed. They all exuded a kind of power that Sakura, weak and helpless and lost, had hungered for as a child. Still hungered for.
"We will succeed," Madara promised her. "What cannot be won with strength can be stolen with cunning."
Sakura chuckled. "You know, Naruto or Sasuke might call that cowardice."
"You are a ninja, not a samurai. You do not follow bushido. You do not lay siege to the fortress, you poison the river. Any who are not willing to do this are fools."
Her smiled was a little crooked. "Once, I thought I would be strong enough that I could be like them," she confided. "Like Naruto and Sasuke, and even Neji, who can face others head-on, straight-up. But I guess I'm not suited for it."
A dark brow rose. "I will never understand why you are disappointed with yourself for being the better ninja."
"Just that little childish wish for recognition, maybe. It's just, they all seem so big, larger than life, and yet no one a generation or two from now will know half of what I've done for my village. Less than that, maybe, when Naruto becomes Hokage. He's not like Tsunade-shishou. He's never really known war and I hope he never finds out what it is to compromise on his morals to accomplish something."
"You will know and your village will live on in prosperity. What more do you wish?" he challenged her.
"For a man who once tried to conquer Konohagakure, you give strange advice," Sakura commented.
The small, strange smile that moved his lips made Sakura's heart skip a beat. He took a drink. "Perhaps," he allowed. Sharingan eyes caught hers. "Now go. For Konohagakure, you cannot fail."
Even as the nine-tailed beast burst through the trees and her world was eaten up by flame, she murmured, "For Konoha."
Sakura woke on a futon in a darkened room. Perhaps five feet to her right, she heard the nearly inaudible sound of Neji's breathing. Sai hadn't come to this town with them. His social awkwardness was a liability they couldn't afford in this ruse. But he had an equally important part to play. Rising, she looked fondly over at her best partner, taking in the way his deep brown hair spread over his pillow and how at peace he looked in sleep.
Even as she looked, his eyes opened briefly, opalescent orbs looking to her with mingled wariness and the confusion of sleep, but when he saw it was only her, his breathing evened out again.
Time to take a bath, she thought after a moment. Today, we take destiny into our own hands.
Neji was awake by the time she returned, her skin flushed and her body smelling of scented oils. Attendants had brought breakfast, which she polished off readily. Then began the real preparations. On went layer after layer of kimono, Neji helping her to dress, and then one of the onsen girls was called in to help her with her hair.
Of 'Sakura' only Neji's beautiful hairpin remained, for courage. Before they had come, Sakura had died her hair sleekest and purest black, so the woman she saw in the small oval mirror was a stranger, a pampered hime whose long sleeves covered her hands demurely and whose only defense was a small knife slipped between the layers of her attire, the case so enameled and the hilt so gilded as to make it look more like decoration than a weapon.
Over the styled hair went a hat, slightly reminiscent of the common rice worker's headgear, but tacked to the brim was a gauzy silk veil that completely obscured her features. As she dressed, she shed layers of her personality like they were her ninja clothes, focusing on the persona of Kin, who was high-spirited, willful, and had been raised to wealth.
As the door slid back open and Neji stepped in, she glanced over not to see the familiar shinobi but a samurai, Tamotsu, Kin's faithful and long-suffering retainer. The retainer who, years ago, had lost his eyes for her, which was why those dead eyes were kept closed and hidden behind a black strip of cloth. The handicap was intended to not only hide his distinctive doujutsu, but also to change the way he moved. Neji was skilled enough at fighting blinded to mock a high-class samurai, but he wouldn't, even in the heat of battle, forget and move as the ninja he was.
His long hair, usually tied low at his neck, had been pulled into the high horsetail and he wore the traditional gi and hakama in muted, earthy colors. By contrast, Kin wore the white of mourning on the outermost layer, over jewel-toned silks. Which made her a blinding target and meant she had to be very careful to keep the kimono clean. But it was all part of the letter that had been sent when she had made her request.
Her mother, a woman Kin hadn't particularly cared for, had died as part of a coup within her family. Her father had sent her to a relative's for safety until he could put down the rebellion, but Kin, determined to have her own way, had left that sanctuary and was now being hunted by another relative, who had yet to show his face but was sending bands of mercenaries and the occasional ninja at her.
It was a common enough story in the cut-throat world of the merchant classes, where so much money in the balance made people do things they wouldn't normally even contemplate. Sakura had heard stories of it occasionally from her mother.
Rising gracefully, the hems of her kimono barely brushed her legs as she made tiny, dainty steps that were an exercise in frustration as she made her slow way to the public room, where they had arranged to meet the shinobi whom she was hiring on a two-week contract as she made her way back to her home in Fire country. Which wasn't as suspicious as it might sound, given that the location and the temperate climate, as well as the protection of a peaceful Hidden Village, made Fire a hub of commerce.
The two Akatsuki were already waiting for them. Both rose as Kin made her slow journey to their table, bowing briefly to her. Itachi was all professionalism as he asked, "You asked for a contract, Kin-sama?"
Kin giggled, a sleeve coming up to cover her face, even though the veil did the job serviceably. "Oh, yes. I want you to take me back home. Tou-sama is such a worrywart!" she said in exasperation. "Tamotsu could do it, but uncle insisted. He wouldn't let me leave until I promised."
Itachi's dark eyes traveled assessingly to Neji, who didn't react to his gaze upon him, but his hand had rested easily on the hilt of his katana since they had emerged from the hallway.
"And you chose Akatsuki…?"
Kin giggled again. "Because you're famous, of course. Cousin Yutaka wouldn't be silly enough to attack with you protecting me."
"I see," Itachi murmured. "We are at your service, then. I understand you have already finalized and paid your contract up-front?"
"Yes," Kin said, sitting down gracefully, like a lily blooming. One of the attendants hurried to her and took her order. "I don't anticipate any dissatisfaction."
The tea arrived, but rather than having it served in the house's cups, another attendant brought a wooden box. The cups inside were silver. "Poison," she chirruped brightly. "Nasty stuff, but cowardly cousin Yutaka can't help himself. So now I always drink from silver cups."
"Is that so, ojou-chan?" Kisame asked with a toothy grin.
Kin beamed at him. "Yes. You would be Hoshigaki-san, then?"
Itachi bowed. "Forgive my rudeness. I am Uchiha Itachi and this is my partner, Hoshigaki Kisame."
"I am sure it will be a pleasure."
And so their journey went, the two stoic ninja often lingering a few steps behind as the high-spirited Kin nattered on to Kisame, who took her in stride.
Itachi commented on it to Tamotsu, watching his face curiously for his reaction. He had sensed that something did not ring quite true about this assignment, but that was common for a mission assigned to the Akatsuki. Part of a ninja's job was not to question their client too deeply. So long as they were paid and the objective accomplished, that was where their concern ended.
However, Itachi's suspicion had more to do with the relationship between hime and retainer than any sense of deception about her situation. "Most of our clients are…hesitant around Kisame. Your hime seems to enjoy his company."
A faint smile crossed the lips of the samurai. "Kin-sama has only one phobia. Jellyfish."
"Jellyfish?"
"The invisible assassins of the ocean, she says," Tamotsu chuckled.
"Hn."
Their trip was interrupted with almost clockwork regularity by bands of mercenaries and occasionally some truly vicious missing-nin. Neji privately thought that Sai was having entirely too much fun with his part of the mission budget. He, Neji, didn't even know where one might hire these sort of thugs, not to mention the unaffiliated talent he'd managed to acquire. He could foresee a bright future for the Root shinobi if he was ever forced to defect.
They had come to the border of Fire without incident and were wiling away the time at a village that specialized in metalwork. Kin had already acquired a few choice bangles with Kisame lurking by her side. Kin preferred to be accompanied by the hulking shinobi, who warded off all but the most intrusive shop persons and men. When accompanied by the attractive and faintly androgynous Itachi and Tamotsu, men and women flocked like vultures around fresh prey.
Kisame leaned against the side of another building, waiting for their flighty hime to emerge. She wasn't as bad as some of the birds he'd been sent to watch, as she wasn't so much stupid as wildly inconstant. Nothing held her attention for long. "Kisame-san!" came the familiar call and he straightened. "Kisame-san, I have a surprise!"
"What's that, ojou-chan?"
"Come on, come on!" she chirruped enthusiastically.
"Where are we going?" he asked, falling beside her.
Kin fairly bounced off, leading him outside the village. A blue brow rose in question. "Don't you think Itachi and your guard should be with us?"
"Nu-uh," she protested childishly. The reserved and dignified hime they had first met had slowly revealed an inner childishness that had bubbled up as their journey progressed, as if being out from the eyes of her elders had allowed her to extend her wings.
They continued until they reached a small clearing. "This will do," Kin declared. "Tada!" From the depths of her sleeves she pulled two of her silver cups and two bottles of sake.
"Naughty little ojou-chan," Kisame observed.
"It's a celebration of a job well done," Kin said seriously. "We're almost at tou-sama's house. So this is my gesture of appreciation," she raised the two bottles of sake. "Please accept it."
Kisame chuckled. "Well, never let it be said I turned down good sake."
Kin beamed and arranged herself on the grass, pouring the first glasses. "What is it you're supposed to say when you drink alcohol?" she asked as she held her wide sleeves carefully to one side, like she was pouring a cup of tea.
"Kampai," he answered as he accepted.
"Then, kampai!" she cheered, clicking the glasses delicately together with a metallic ring.
Kin removed her hat and gingerly took a sip, grimacing. "Kami that's awful."
"That's not how you drink sake," he said and knocked it back in one gulp.
A black brow rose on her wide forehead. Then, as if steeling herself, she stared down into the glass and then followed his lead. Kisame grinned toothily as she coughed. "Still bad," she said weakly.
"It gets better," he promised, handing back in glass for a refill. With his body size, it would take a lot more than two bottles of sake to get him drunk enough to lose a fight, because by that point he would be in a coma.
The hime surprised him when she met his determination with her own, pouring herself a second drink, though she looked at it like it was a snake about to bite her. "If you don't like it, don't drink it," he advised.
"No, no, I'm fine," she protested. Her stubbornness was amusing.
She knocked back the second glass too, but sipped at her third, carefully attentive to Kisame's cup. He didn't realize what was happening until the glass slipped from his hand and his body tipped forward. Kin moved like she would embrace him, arms winding around his neck, and she whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Kisame-san." And then her gilded knife severed his spinal cord before he could flare his chakra and purge the poison from his system. "For trusting me, arigatou."
Then, without wasting another moment, Sakura took a good grasp of his short hair and began to cut his head from his body, like severing a limb from an animal for cooking. Blood spouted, speckling red flowers on her outermost kimono of purest white. "Silver doesn't reveal every poison," she told him softly. "And you can't trust the poison will affect your opponent, letting me take the first drink like that."
Throwing the head to one side, Sakura purged herself of as much undigested sake as she could, heaving until her ribs hurt. All the same, her head ached a little. Standing, she turned back to Kisame's body. "You surprised me though, Kisame-san. Less than half of what you drank would have killed a normal human. It was a paralytic and still, I think if I had been slower, you might have fought me anyway. What kind of a monster were you?" she demanded. "It doesn't matter now, though."
She slipped the ring off his finger and hid it in her kimono. Biting her thumb, Sakura ran through the familiar seals. The tiger that appeared was about twice the size of a horse, the pelt between the black stripes a golden yellow. Hooped piercings were in his ears, which twitched as he looked at her. "Sakura," he rumbled pleasantly.
She bowed. "Subaru Boshi, it's been some time."
"Polite. I like that," he purred as he drew near her, curling his body around her. "And soaked with the blood of your enemies. Even better. You have been busy since I smelled you last. You need a body disposed of, then?"
"If you don't mind, Subaru Boshi."
The great tiger walked over to the body, smelling the blood. "Always poison with you, Sakura. It's no wonder Kagasuki favors you."
"You're immune to poison," Sakura pointed out.
The tiger snorted. "Ikadakimasu," he growled as he turned upon the body, strong claws holding Kisame's torso down as he bit down on his arm and with a violent twist of his head tore it from the body.The wet sound of meat and the crack of bone followed as Sakura watched him systematically consume the blue-haired nin, saving the head for last. She didn't avert her eyes from the shinobi who had faithfully protected her for the last two weeks as several hundred pounds of force were brought to bear between the pointed teeth. "Tasted like fish," Subaru said when he had finished. "Peculiar, for a human. Now you owe me a favor, Sakura."
"What would you like, Subaru?" she asked, not quite trusting the tiger's smile.
"Your kimono. The one with all the blood," he said.
This time it was Sakura's turn to snort. "You scent pervert," she growled as she untied the obi so she could offer him the outermost layer. That was always Subaru's demand. A piece of clothing that smelled like her. Strange, but reasonable, as he never really seemed interested in the sight of her stripping. It was the scent that mattered and even now as she handed the kimono over, he buried his nose in it before he allowed her to drape it over his back like a saddle blanket.
She was surprised when he leaned forward and that big, rough tongue swiped across her face, leaving a warm trail of saliva. "Gross!" she protested.
The big cat's smile only got larger. "Summon me again soon, Sakura." And with a twitch of his tail, the tiger disappeared as quickly as he had come.
Swiping angrily at her face, Sakura went ahead and stripped off all the layers, leaving herself only in panties. Channeling her chakra, she was pleased to note when Sai's special ink appeared, curling across her belly in the shape of a bird. Touching her fingers to her skin, she channeled even more chakra into it, clumsily using Sai's specialized jutsu, watching as it peeled itself away and flapped up into the sky, disappearing quickly over the treetops. Presumably it would be able to locate the artist in short order and he would arrive with all of their weapons and supplies.
And clothes. Grimacing, Sakura redressed herself, discarding most of the layers. Now for the difficult part. As tempting as it was to try and poison Itachi and carry him back to Konoha like some kind of trophy, she had learned her lesson with Sasuke. He would choose to come or he would not.
Staring at Kisame's sword, the only remaining part of the once-great Mist-nin, she lingered, undecided. Sakura herself had no use for such a sword, but what happened if something dangerous like that fell into the hands of the enemy?
"Then that is fate," she decided abruptly, picking up the sword, nearly dropping it when it began to tug angrily at her chakra. Stabbing it deep into the ground, she left it. "You can take care of yourself, can't you?" she asked it wryly as she turned her back on the sword, which seemed to be writhing beneath its bandages.
Without another glance back, Sakura left the death spot of the Monster of the Mist.
-X-X-X-
She found Neji and Itachi sharing tea on the walkway outside the room they had taken for the day.
Itachi rose smoothly as he saw the disheveled state of her kimono and the absence of her guardian. "Were you attacked?" he asked. "Where is Kisame?"
"It's finished," she said with a sigh. Pouring herself a cup of tea, she breathed in the aroma with appreciation. It was a good matcha, a powdered green tea. She laid her hat to the side and smoothed out her hair self-consciously. "Sit down, Itachi-san," she commanded as she shot him a side-long glance. "Neji?" she asked the other boy.
Reaching up, Neji removed his blindfold and waited a moment before opening his eyes, revealing the distinctive eyes of the Hyuuga, eyes that Itachi could not fail to recognize.
It took him less than a moment for Itachi to put together all the pieces. "Kisame is dead."
"Yes," Sakura nodded. "Sit down," she said again, "You're not on the books for today."
The wary Uchiha did not resume his seat. Which made sense, Sakura supposed. Anyone strong enough to bring down Kisame would be a potential threat to him as well. "I did not sense his chakra."
"I wasn't dumb enough to let him use his chakra. He would have eaten me alive," Sakura muttered into her cup. "Please, sit," she offered irritably. "I have a proposition for you, Uchiha."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I did not think Konoha shinobi would try to make a deal with a missing-nin."
"They wouldn't, not if they were good little shinobi, without Hokage-sama's permission. But if you want proof of that, you'll have to wait until the last member of our squad arrives."
"I did not sense anyone trailing us."
"He wasn't," Sakura said patiently. "His part was to hire the mercenaries. Dear cousin Yutaka. I think he had fun."
"Konoha shinobi do not usually split up their squad."
"If Sai-chan had been with us, you would've known from the moment he spoke just where he'd gotten his training. It couldn't be allowed."
Itachi's eyes narrowed even further, but they remained dark. "Your tactics are too unusual to be hunter-nin. And you are too skilled to be only jounin. What does ANBU want, if not to kill me?" he asked. "Are you here on Danzou's orders?"
"No. But you should know, that man is now loose. No one knows where he is."
Itachi finally sat, but it was a movement like a snake getting ready to strike. Or a mongoose, ready to kill the snake as it struck. "What has happened in Konoha?"
"Officially, you have been assigned to my squad," Sakura explained, staring into the still surface of her cooling tea. "Which makes you my responsibility. Your last orders have been rescinded. It's time to come back to Konoha."
"Preposterous." If Sakura didn't know better, she would almost think she had surprised the word out of him.
"Hokage-sama has made it very clear to the Elders that she feels they mishandled that situation. I am afraid, however, that they refuse to apologize for their actions."
Itachi sat very still next to her, but she resisted the urge to glance at him. No need to invite herself into the embrace of the Sharingan.
"I brought Sasuke back once," she said very softly. "Broke his bones and brought him home. But he left again. So that's why I am asking you. Uchiha Itachi, please return to Konoha. If you feel guilt, return and suffer the judgment of the people. If you do not, then come back and we will retrieve your brother for you before he destroys himself."
"Sasuke will continue to chase after me. And when his hate is enough, he will defeat me." Itachi said it as a statement of fact.
"You cannot forge a strong sword from inferior metal," Sakura said, but Madara roiled beneath her words suddenly. "When tested, it will only shatter."
"You presume to know him that well?"
"He was my teammate," Sakura said simply. "We all knew each other's weaknesses." Her last words were bitter and held a long history.
"What if I do not wish to return to Konoha?" Itachi asked after a long pause and Sakura closed her eyes.
"Then I leave, for now. But you should ask Sasuke. He'll tell you I'm persistent."
"And if I continue to say no?"
This time it was Sakura's turn to be silent. Because she knew what she would do.
"We are offering you a second chance," Neji said, speaking for the first time. "Please consider it properly."
Sakura chanced a glance at Itachi, but his face was unreadable. "I find that I cannot trust that this is not a trap," he said at last.
"Then wait," Neji told him. "Sakura has already sent for Sai. When he gets here, you can look over the documentation yourself." A tense silence fell. Then Neji spoke again, his voice a little rough and uncomfortable. "I once hated as Sasuke does," he admitted. "It consumed my life. And even though I didn't know it then, I was miserable. But it would have been worse if I could have acted on it. Because, even though that person might be dead, all that hate doesn't magically disappear, it just has nowhere left to go, except inward. If you let him kill you, you are sentencing Sasuke to death," he told Itachi baldly.
"But Sasuke's not the type to go quietly," Sakura whispered. "There will be…collateral damage. When he finds out the truth. That you killed his family on Konoha's orders."
"Just as you are the one who hurt him, you are the only one who can set him to rights," Neji said firmly.
Itachi looked over at them then and both were careful not to meet his eyes. "Not even Uzumaki Naruto?"
Sakura's lip twitched. "Maybe Naruto can and maybe Naruto can't. All the others, even if they didn't know it, they wanted to be fixed, to be healed. All Sasuke wants is to be broken."
"There is also something else you haven't considered," Sakura continued after a pause. "Danzou has disappeared. But when I went on the mission where we retrieved Sasuke, he gave me very specific orders. Kill him and bring back his eyes. I've worked under him for years and Sai-chan has given his entire life to that man. If there are people that can help you find him before he hunts down Sasuke, it's us."
Silence again. Sakura wondered if there were some magic words Naruto used to convince people to see reason. But no, it might not work. Because Itachi wasn't out of control like Gaara and his heart wouldn't be touched like Zabuza. Itachi was everything deliberate and planned in a ninja, like his parents at his birth had drawn out a chart to the perfect shinobi and followed it with diligence. She admired him so much it was almost painful, but she also wanted to stab him with a kunai for being predictably resistant to the idea of returning to the village that had once ordered him to kill his family.
"Do you resent Konoha?" she asked distantly as she turned over an idea in her head, like one might a rock. Underneath was a poisonous spider. "Is that why you're doing this? Sasuke will kill you, absolving you of your guilt, and then he will kill all of us and you will have your revenge from beyond the grave. Is it like that?"
"Clever," she said with admiration, "so very clever. To use your very own blood brother to do it. Yes, I could admire a man who could do that to his own kin. He must have loved you very much once, to hate you so much now. It's an extraordinary kind of vengeance. And planned so many years in advance. I wonder if I might someday equal you, Uchiha Itachi. But then, by the time that would happen, I would need a jutsu to raise the dead and your brother has already killed the only Sannin with that ability."
"Locked his soul inside his own, I think," Sakura imparted. "He'll have to be careful, though. He might hate you with everything he has, but Orochimaru has been looking for immortality for longer than he has been alive. That kind of obsession won't end just because he's put in a cage. Maybe I won't need to bring you back after all. Orochimaru wouldn't have any need to kill you, once he has Sasuke's eyes."
From the look on Neji's face, there must have been some sort of expression on Itachi's. But she wasn't finished yet.
"But if Orochimaru does take over, then Konoha would definitely order Sasuke's death. I could do it. I've never killed someone I once loved. It'll be a growing experience. Or would you prefer to do it? Your hands to end it all. Make a complete set, be the last Uchiha standing. That's the future, what might happen. Will you risk it, Itachi? Risk Sasuke? Or will you come to Konoha with me?"