Chapter Fifteen: Fairy Tale Endings and Tomatoes

Ancient Greece:

"Sasuke, promise me you won't leave again."

"Hn."

"Thank you."

Sasuke kept his promise and he did not leave her. At least not without a promised return that was sealed with a poke of her head. Each time she felt the jab to her forehead, she believed him. And each time she believed him, sh was never disappointed, as he always came back.

It was not everyday they met, but it was enough.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. And soon the spring months had transitioned into summer. Their time together varied in attendance and activity but with each moment and day they spent together, Sasuke grew a little warmer, Sakura grew a little bolder, and together, they grew a little closer.

"Tell me the one about the two brothers," Sakura requested.

Sasuke let out a lazy droll. "Why? You hate that one."

Sakura rolled over onto her side, her lips pulling up into a pout and she rested her head on her hand. She glared at Sasuke who was laying beside her, stretched out on his back with arms tucked behind his head and eyes closed.

It was dark out.

Naruto had left hours ago. Sakura had expected Sasuke to send her home not long after before the curtain of night fell, but to her surprise, he didn't. So she lingered until the first star began to glow in the night sky and before long, the sky had been splattered with the twinkling of many heavenly lights.

"I don't hate it," she insisted.

Sasuke's eyes cracked open to look at her from the side. Seeing her pouting face, he closed his eyes again, letting out a grunt of annoyance as he rolled his eyes and shifted himself to mirror her body. With his head propped up, he leveled himself with her to look her in the eye.

"Every time I tell it to you, you complain about the ending."

"That's because I don't like the ending," she commented. "It's sad and lonely."

"Well it's how it happened," Sasuke retorted, giving her forehead a poke.

She frowned at him as she rubbed the surface of her forehead. "You could change it. That's the point of stories isn't it?"

Sasuke gave her a pointed look. "All stories stem from something real. The further away you move from the original, you lose the lesson to be learned. I'm not changing the ending. If you don't like it, then choose a different one."

"But all your stories have bad endings." She commented dryly. "Don't you have any happy ones?"

"No," Sasuke answered automatically as he rolled his body back to stare up at the stars.

The truth was that he knew plenty. His mother was just like Sakura, always looking for a happy ending and coming up with sickeningly sweet fantasies. But he didn't want to encourage Sakura. She was already annoying enough with her constant nagging for a story. If he complied, he would never have peace. She would insist for more and more. She was a glutton with an insatiable craving for imaginations that went beyond her pebble of a world.

"Then I want the one with the brothers," Sakura demanded, causing him to give her a side glare at her tone. Her demanding face quickly morphed into one of pleading.

Sasuke cursed her. He hated it when she made that face. He found it difficult to say no and he was suspicious that she knew it. He tried to will himself to deny her but then he looked at her large eyes and all fight dissipated in him. He was the one with the Sharingan, yet it was she who manipulated him with just a single look.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he sighed out. "So annoying," he muttered under his breath.

Immediately Sakura's pleading look brightened as a bright smile came to her face. Like an eager child she rolled onto her back and shifted herself closer to him. Automatically his free arm shifted to let her lay on his shoulder and his fingers began to trail through her hair. He wasn't sure how this came to be a natural habit, but it had.

He took in a deep breath, looking up to the skies, he pointed to two stars. He felt Sakura's head adjust to look at the pair of gleaming stars. He wasn't sure why he bothered, by this time Sakura had learned them well enough she could find them blindfolded. But when he caught her smile from his peripheral, he stopped questioning it.

"Long ago," he began, "there were two brothers. Indra the oldest, and Ashura…."

"You didn't have to come with me."

"Hn."

"I do this by myself all the time."

"Hn."

Sakura let out a heavy sigh.

It was market day and she had been sent to oversee the stall that her father vendored at the port. It was something she had done by herself hundreds of times since she was old enough to handle such affairs. However, as of late Sakura had been accompanied more often than not.

It was a side effect to his more frequent attendance in her life. Sakura knew Sasuke was a little paranoid. He manifested it every time he chastised her for roaming outside of her family's manor after dark and unaccompanied. However, recently it had gotten even worse. Now it felt like he thought something would happen to her even in the brightness of mid day sun.

It was endearing but also inhibiting.

And perhaps accompanied was not exactly the right word to define Sasuke's presence. Sasuke more lurked behind her, than escorted at her side. While his foreboding presence was good for detering any ill intentioned people, it was not so great for business. Shoppers would begin to approach the stall only to catch sight of his scowling demeanor as he stood in the shadows behind her. Once they saw his glare, they would automatically seek business elsewhere, some taking a simple change of course while others seemed to flee.

As she watched the third young man run away, tripping over his feet and leaving a trail of dust, Sakura whirled around. With her hands on her hips she took in the brooding demon. His dark eyes were still narrowed and focused on the spot were the young sailor had just disappeared from. While his obsidian eyes were as dark as ever, Sakura couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion that he had just recently flashed his bloody orbs at the potential customer.

She cleared her throat and Sasuke finally moved his eyes to her. But that was the only movement. The rest of his body remained firmly locked and rigid. With his arms crossed and feet placed at a stance, he looked at her with the stoney frown on her face.

"If you're going to insist that you be here can you at least stop scaring the customers away."

"I'm not scaring customers away," Sasuke said dryly.

"Then what would you call that?" Sakura questioned, her arm flying behind her to indicate the now settling dust that was the only evidence of the young sailor.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "He wasn't a customer."

Her hands went to her hips. "Of course not, because you scared him away too soon to buy anything. And even if he wasn't going to buy he could have been looking..."

Her voice drifted off as a smirk that looked more like a sneer came to his lips. "Oh trust me Sakura," he said in a dark tone. "He was certainly looking for something...but it wasn't olives."

Sakura stared back at him, not understanding his meaning. When she failed to catch his drift, he let his eyes meander down her body, taking in the dip of the neck line, the curve of her waist, and the width of her hips. When Sasuke realized he was taking far too long to make his point clear, he snapped his eyes back up to her face, just in time to see his meaning dawning on her.

Her face flushed and she quickly wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. "I um…" Her eyes fluttered around the small stall, every once in awhile landing on him before she flushed deeper and looked away. "I don't think….he was just a….he was probably supposed to meet vendors for possible trade deals…"

She drifted off when she caught Sasuke's look of skepticism. "Trust me, it had nothing to do with trading...although I am certain he was looking for some kind of offer…"

She flushed even deeper. "Stop it," she protested. "No one would ever think that…"

Sasuke felt his brow raise and then he scoffed. It baffled him how oblivious she was. When he had first met her, it was plain to anyone that Sakura possessed a unique beauty. Her coloring had been intriguing and bright, making her stand out. However, over the time that he had known her, Sakura's unique coloring was not the only thing that made her stand out.

She had grown taller and filled out in all the right places. In the course of a year, Sakura had grown from young woman to woman. It was a realization that had become more and more apparent to Sasuke in the more recent times. He had first noticed it after the month of absence. And when he started accompanying her to the market, he realized he was not the only one who noticed the changes of her body. Everyone had. Everyone...except for her.

It was annoying as hell. She was too naive and innocent for her own good. Sasuke understood that vanity was considered a sin but even a blind man would be able to see just how enticing she was. The sailor boy had no intentions in any business transactions, he had been headed this way purley out of his own lustful drives. All the young men had been. The first boy had perhaps innocent intentions but the hopeful admiration in the boys eyes was just a diluted version of the lustful want that the other two had harbored in their minds...or at least in some more southern region of their body.

"Sakura," he began, his voice taking on its usual annoyance when he was frustrated with her. "Do you forget that I can sense every intention that man had? Stop being so humble, it will get you into trouble. The sooner you become aware that people will take advantage of a pretty face whenever they can, the better. You have to be more aware of what your looks do to people...especially men."

Sakura looked down at the ground. She hated it when Sasuke chastised her like a child. But then suddenly his words sunk in and her green eyes snapped up to him. "Y-you...you think i'm pretty?"

Sasuke froze. "That not what I…" he stopped himself, and ran a hand over his face. "Is that really all you took from that?" he groaned into his hand as it slid off his face and revealed a frowning Sakura. He let out a sigh. "Yes...you are pretty...for a mortal," he added when she beamed up at him too happily from his proclamation.

She grabbed his hand to which she earned an impatient look from him. "Come on," she encouraged, tugging him in the direction that would lead them into the busy street.

"Where to? I thought you needed to manage the stall?" Sasuke asked, but taking a few steps to follow her anyways.

"It's not like I will make any sales with you chasing everyone away," she said dryly over her shoulder.

"I let the old woman buy a pitcher of oil and the old man and his grandson linger," Sasuke defended, to which he only received a shaking of Sakura's head as she continued to pull him around the busy market.

"Here, try this," Sakura directed eagerly as she shoved a piece of bread into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke looked at the morsel of food, drenched in a golden honey that was beginning to run down her fingers. He had never cared for such delicacies before. But as he watched the shining stickiness begin to glisten down the back of her finger towards her knuckles he suddenly felt oddly enticed. He licked his lips and just as he found himself preparing to partake of the offering, the sickly sweetness hit his nostrils and brought him to the realization of what he was about to do.

Caught off guard, Sasuke batted her hand away, causing her to let out a yelp as she nearly dropped the treat. "What was that for!"

"I don't like sweet things," he proclaimed.

Sakura let out a scoff that mimicked the one she was exposed to frequently in his presence. "Tch, do you like anything," she mumbled under her breath as she began to pick at the sweet treat and eat it herself.

Sasuke watched her take a piece of the honeyed bread and close her eyes as she savored the sweetness of each bite. "I like tomatoes," he suddenly answered, causing Sakura to pause with a finger in her mouth as she tried to clean the sticky residue left from her treat.

Her face scrunched into confusion. "Tomato?" she asked, the word sounding foreign on her lips. "I've never heard of them...what are they?"

Her ignorance was another reminder of just how small her world was. Sasuke had forgotten this part of the world did not produce his favorite fruit. He frowned, annoyed at himself for forgetting that Sakura was not like him. Her world was the island and her knowledge was limited to that world.

"It's a fruit found in a land far across the sea," Sasuke explained.

"Oh…" she said, "well maybe I can look for it at the market. There is a charming old vendor down the street that travels around the Mediterranean, collecting exotic things." Her face brightened. "One time, I had something that had come all the way from a land in the Far East of Asia. They called it Lychee and it was delicious," she said almost proudly in an attempt to sound more cultured.

Sasuke gave her a sympathetic smile. "I doubt your merchant friend would find this," he said, skeptical at her 'connections'. "This is a land that has yet to be known by anyone within you or even your empires knowledge. Across the ocean."

Sakura looked at him as if he were speaking in tongues. "There are lands across the edge of the world?"

Sasuke smiled again. "Oh sakura, there are more than just lands across the sea but whole wonders and worlds…" he paused for a moment as he took in her awe. "...you know, I could take you there someday."

So looked at him in surprise. And then a glint of excitement flashed across her face. She looked eager as if she would accept his offer. The thought of showing her such worlds stirred something within him. He would show her the world. They would see every wonder and every scene. Not just of her world but his. He was just about to grab her and take her with him then and there. But then the spark of adventure dimmed.

"Certainly sounds fantiscal," Sakura said with a sad smile. "Something like Odysseus' voyage...maybe perhaps that is where the great sea took him before he returned. Though I don't think I could sail a ship, nor would I be very brave fighting off any creatures that may cross our epic journey."

Not willing to let the spark of adventure dim completely, Sasuke prodded her. "We don't need a boat, and I promise I would not let any harm come to you. I would slay all the creatures that should set themselves before us."

Sakura stared up at him. Unsure if he was being serious or mocking her. A part of her, wanted, even hoped, it was true offer. But then she recalled what he was and what she was. She was just a mortal girl.

While many of the hero's in most of the legends and myths of her time were just mortals as well, she still failed to sell the idea to herself. She was not like Perseus or Hercules who descended from gods. She was no warrior like Achilleus who had been dipped in the River Styx. She was not like Odysseus, cunning and brave. She was a daughter of a farmer, with a humble education and a lack of any knowledge beyond the shores of her tiny island. She was no heroine.

"Maybe someday," she said noncommittally.

Sasuke let his attention linger on her, his heart slightly sinking in the change of her continence. He nodded. "When you wish it, I will take you anywhere you desire."

Sakura was in her families olive grove helping with the grafting when he found her. She was crouched down at the base of the trunk, grafting in a healthy branch when suddenly something was shoved into her face. Sakura reared her head back to take in the rounded red object held out to her by a pale hand. She followed the arm attached to said hand and found herself looking up at Sasuke, who casually leaned against the tree she was working in. She was surprised but more than happy to see him.

He had been gone for a week and it had been a long and slow one. It was why she was more than eager to help in the grove to hopefully pass the time more quickly. With her work easily overshadowed by his presence, she quickly stood to her feet, taking the offering from his hand.

It was smooth and round like an apple but soft like a ripened plum. "What is it?" She asked curiously as she rolled it around in her hand, inspecting the green stem and the minuscule yellow lines that appeared here and there like veins.

"It's a tomato, try it," Sasuke encouraged, taking note of her eyes as they lit up at the name.

Giving it one last inspection, Sakura bit into its plump flesh. Immediately her eyes went wide as the unexpected juiciness took her for surprise. She pulled it from her mouth, her hand coming up to her chin to whip away the juices that had escaped as she chewed.

Sasuke watched her closely. She gave no indication as to what she thought of it. Finally she swallowed. His eyes followed every action as her throat bobbed and then flickered up to her face again.

"It's not very sweet," she commented with slight disappointment.

She liked her lips, the action caught his attention and he noticed a small seed lingering. Smoothly he lifted his thumb and dragged it across her lower lip. She froze, her green eyes snapping up to meet his dark ones. For a prolonged moment he let his finger linger and then he pulled it away and snatched the bitten fruit from her hand.

"Tch," he scoffed. "Do you like anything that isn't sweet?" He asked with a roll of his eyes. "Not everything has to honey coated to be edible." He took a bite from where she had just bitten. Savoring the taste he looked at her, questioning how she could not enjoy such a delacy.

She let out a small laugh making him pause in his chewing. "You haven't a lick of sweetness to you but I still like you," she did teasingly before bending down to finish her work.

Sasuke chose to not respond as he watched her fasten a rope around the trunk to stabilize the switch in which she had just grafted. However he didn't stop the small smile that came to his lips by her words.

"What are you doing!" Sakura practically screeched.

Sasuke paused in removing his shirt. When he caught the crimson tint that was quickly overtaking her face, he smirked. He finished pulling the black linen over his head and tossed it to the ground.

"Don't tell me you live on an island and don't know how to swim," he said as he lifted a foot and pulled it free from his sandal. He let it fall next to his shirt then removed the other.

Once clothed in only his trousers Sasuke put his hands on his hips, his thumbs snaked between his skin and the waistline. He watched with amusement as Sakura's eyes widened even more.

She thrust a hand up. "Stop!" She screamed, averting her eyes.

Sasuke smirked. "Calm down Sakura, don't worry, I will let you keep your innocence today."

She gave him a wry look. "Now answer me, do you know how to swim."

She gave him a hardened look. "Of course…" Then her face turned nervous. "But it isn't safe in this area. The tide and the current..."

He didn't give her a reply to her worry. Instead he grasped her hand and began to pull her towards the coming waves that were gently sweeping the stoney beach.

"What are you doing?" She questioned as she immediately dug her heels into the ground and tried to pull free.

Her sandals did nothing against the seaweed slicked stone and his strength. She slid forward, grasping onto his arms as she let out a yelp.

"Sakura," he whispered into her ear. "It's okay, trust me."

She looked up at him. "But the-"

"Trust me," he emphasized again. "I won't let anything happen to you." Sasuke watched her gaze up at him and slowly nodded her head in consent. He smiled. "Then let's go."

He grabbed her hand, steadying her as they walked across the flat rocks. Every once in awhile Sakura's foot slipped, until Sasuke kneeled down and removed her shoes for her. "Your feet will have better traction," he said as he tossed her sandals farther up the shore where the waves did not reach. Sakura said nothing, only nodding her head as she grasped his arm and followed.

They reached a point in the rocky ledges where a large black circle gurgled and rippled. A wave lapped up onto the rocky ledge they stood on and rushed past them. Salt water sprayed up onto Sakura's bare legs as the tide hit against her ankles and calves. The tickle of seaweed skimmed the top of her feet making her want to squirm. As quickly as it came, the water was pulled back as the current retreated back to the sea. Soon the ledge was no longer submerged with the exception of the circular drop off that they stood at the edge of.

It was when Sasuke began to enter into the dark pool that Sakura began to be hesitant again. Sitting on the edge with his feet dipped into the dark hole, Sasuke looked up at her and gave her hand a tug.

"Common," he encouraged. "Trust me just a little bit longer, I promise it will be worth it."

Warily, Sakura crouched down and sat at the ledge. The water was shockingly colder in this spot than the shallow waves that she had grown used to. The deeper her feet went the colder it got.

"What exactly are we doing?"

Saskue grinned. "How long can you hold your breath for?"

Sakura stared at him blankly then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

Saskue nodded. "You'll be fine. Just hold on to my hand and don't let go, no matter what."

Sakura's eyes bugged as he scooted off the ledge and plunged into the pool. A wave of water rose out, disrupted by his body mass, it rushed over her legs and thighs before trickling away. A rise of bubbles made their way to the surface just before his head broke through as well. Weighed down by water, Sakura took in the odd look of his flattened hair. It was such a foreign look that it made her want to reach out to ruffle his hair and reshape it to its normal form of messy spikes. Instead, his hand rose and took hers.

"Common, we have to time it just right." With shaking hands, Sakura grabbed his and slowly lowered herself into the pool. Her dress swirled and floated around her legs as she submerged herself but she thought nothing off it, too distracted by the suspense of what they were about to do. Just as her body settled, a crash of waves came over the ledge and she felt her body being pushed away from Sasuke. Panic flooded her mind but before she could drift away, she felt the tightening of his hand with hers as he pulled her close to his body.

Clinging to his arms with her chest pushed against his bare side, she looked up at him. There was something in his stare that left his eyes rich with a shiny luster. Unable to hold it, she looked down, only to be met with an eyeful of the bare skin of chest. Her attention lingered far longer than what should have been appropriate and was only pulled away when he spoke.

"When I say, take the deepest breath you can manage and keep holding on." Wide eyed she nodded. The waves began to recede back and just as the pull of the current lessoned Sasuke gave her hand a tug. "Now," he said before dipping beneath the surface and pulling her down with him.

It was darker than Sakura had ever experienced. Her eyes were pinched tightly, but she knew that even if they were open, she would see nothing. All she felt was the buoyant current which seemed to suck them deeper and deeper and the tight grip in which Sasuke held her hand. The brush of sea kelp made her fear being tangled and trapped but all it ever did was tickle her skin as she swam on.

She wasn't sure how long they had been under, in her panic to take in a breath when Sasuke had instructed, she had forgotten to start counting. However long it was, she was beginning to feel the burn in her chest. Despite Sasuke's assurance, she couldn't help but panic. They were no longer swimming down but horizontal now, there was no telling how much further they still had to go.

The burning in her lungs began to intensify, reminding her that her body needed oxygen as her heart began to fluctuate more rapidly in panic. Instinctively her body moved to go back, to return to where she knew the exit from this soon to be watery grave was, but Sasuke held tight and continued to tug her along. Whether it was by his assuring squeeze, or the fact that she realized she was disoriented and as a result, really did not know which way would lead her to the exit, Sakura followed, kicking her feet to go faster in hopes to convey to Sasuke the urgency of her need for air.

Just as she was beginning to think Sasuke truly was dragging her down to hell and heat in her lungs was not from lack of oxygen, but from the fiery pits of the underworld, she felt herself being tugged upwards and without warning, her head broke through the surface of the water. She took in a deep breath that was cold and refreshing despite the salty taste that came with it. Coughing a few times, she wiped her eyes before opening them. Sasuke popped up right before her, his red eyes shining brightly in the dim light.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head automatically, unsure if she really was or not. It was then that she began to look around. Black rock surrounded them in a small cave. The pool of water being the entrance. Judging by the draping of seaweed and mollusks that had fastened themselves to the walls, Sakura assumed that at high tide this place was flooded.

"Why are we here?" She asked, doing her best to hide the panic that came with the danger of being caught in such a place at the wrong time.

Sasuke gave her a secretive smile. "I want to show you something."

He pulled himself up onto the ledge then reached down to pull her out of the pool. "But what about the tide," she couldn't help but stress.

"Don't worry about it," he assured as he steadied her then began to make his way down the narrow passageway.

It was then that Sakura realized the faint light that was allowing her to see. Farther down where Sasuke was leading her, there was a pale blue light, tinted with green that seemed to almost glow.

"What-"

"Just wait," Sasuke cut her off.

Sakura nodded even though Sasuke was not looking at her as she continued to follow. The floor of the cavern was cushioned with a small path way of small grained sand, making it easy to step. With each step she felt the gritty wet sand shape and reform into a perfect imprint of her foot.

When they reached the end, Sasuke turned to her. "Close your eyes," he instructed.

She gave him a quizzical look but when he said nothing else she slowly let her lids fall. She heard Sasuke step around her before his arms suddenly snaked around her. She startled but stilled when she realized he was doing it with a purpose. With a gentle nudge, he guided her forward a few steps then turned sharply.

"Step up," he said into her ear.

Blindly, Sakura lifted her foot higher then slowly set it down. Setting her hands to the cavern side to steady herself, she stepped up then waited for Sasuke to join her before moving forward again. Soon the echoed splashing of the waves from where they entered where muted and all she could hear was the shuffling of their feet and the small dripping of a different water source.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke whispered into her ear. She nodded. "Then open your eyes."

There were no words that she could use to describe it. It was like nothing she had ever seen or imagined to ever exist. It was of another world.

He had led her to a hollowed out portion of the cavern. The floor was flooded in a pool of water that was surprisingly warm. Sakura was standing at the pools edge, her toes just barely brushing the water and savoring the warmth it gave to her numb feet. From the center of the cavern roof, water dripped in a soothing trickle to feed the small pool below it. Centuries of this constant flow of water had deposited a build up of minerals and as a result, stalactites hung from the ceiling like a great chandelier.

While the natural architecture of the room was beautiful, this was not what awed Sakura. Instead it was the glowing light that illuminated the cavern with an iridescent blue light that had her speechless. Stings of it hung from the formed stalactites like beaded strands of glass, adding to the whimsical strangeness of the room.

"What is this?" she asked in a small breath.

"The light is created by a pubescent species of insects." She felt rather than heard Sasuke take a step next to her as his arm brushed up against hers. "You once asked me what my world was like," Sasuke began, "This-" he gestured around the room- "is not even a fraction of its beauty. But it is the closest thing in your world that I have to compare it to."

Sakura took a few steps forward into the pool of warm water. She relished the warmth that seeped farther up her legs the further she became submerged and without thinking, she sat down, bending her knees as she rested herself on her ankles. Her dress pooled around her like a jellyfish as it floated near the surface. The light color seemed to absorb the blue-green light from above, giving the illusion that she herself was glowing as it reflected the light.

Sasuke watched as she stared in awe at the water around her. Her fingers skimmed the water's surface as she softly smiled down at the glowing fabric of her dress. Her neck turned as she looked back at him.

It felt like he had run into a wall all full speed as a wave of strange, but not entirely foreign feelings hit him. He had felt this once before, several months ago when he had looked upon her soul. But this time it was different. He wasn't looking at her soul, he was looking at her physical being, yet the image of her sitting in the pool was just as beautiful. Her face, cast in shadows in some places then highlighted in others looked so delicate and smooth in the lighting. Her skin, which had darkened with the warm season contrasted against the light color of her dress that in its wetness, clung to her body in a way that Sasuke thought was all too intimate for anyone to see. Yet, with this knowledge, he made no movement to look away at the sheer drapings that had molded to her skin and left little to the imagination. Instead of averting his gaze, his eyes wandered to her waist where the water line began, and then they traveled to the skirt of her dress where it floated around her like petals on a sweet lilly. He could see the beginning of her thighs, paler than the skin that was regularly exposed to the rays of the sun.

He felt a tug within him, forcing his body to take a sudden step forward. The splash of his feet caused him to come back to himself somewhat. He looked down at the rippling water at his ankles then back up to Sakura. She was still looking at him, but there was an odd expression to her face.

Slowly, she stood. The sloshing of water turned to the unsteady dripping as the excess water seeped from her skirt. Sasuke looked her up and down. The unhidden shape of her legs and body as her wet dress clung to her skin doing nothing to help quell the urging feeling within him. He felt the tug again, it was insisting and powerful but this time he was ready for it and resisted the step his feet seemed to insist upon.

Something was wrong with him. His heart was beating irregularly and he felt uncomfortably warm and breathless. Had he caught some sort of mortal disease? Sakura began to walk towards him in an almost rushed pace. Her hurried feet stumbled through the water, unbalanced, as if she were being tugged towards him by an invisible force. In her rush she seemed to trip over her own feet and began to fall forward. In a flash he was grasping onto her, catching her before she could fully fall.

With surprised eyes, Sakura looked up at him. Her lips parted slightly, the movement catching Sasuke's attention. "Thank you." He saw rather than heard her lips form the gratitude.

Another movement caused his attention to move from her lips to her hand as she reached up to tuck a clump of wet hair behind her ear. His eyes lingered there. Taking in the curvature of it and the shape of her ear lobe.

"Also, thank you for bringing me here," she added. "It's…" Her voice trailed off as she failed to express what it was to her. He watched as she looked around the cavern and met her stare when she looked back to him. "I never would have known there could be anything within the caliber of this beauty if it were not for you."

Sakura's heart fluttered when Sasuke's hand moved to her face. With the back of his fingers he gently caressed her cheek with a strange look upon his face. "As would I, had it not been for you."

Sakura stared back at him blankly, her mind struggling to comprehend the meaning of his words. Surely they meant something other than what she was reading it as to be. Her stomach flutterd and flipped as she opened her mouth to say something, anything to try and settle her nerves, but she did not want to break the moment. It was too precious.

There was no denying the building of her feelings for the man before her. It had started innocently enough. He was handsome. Any maiden would have fallen for him initially. But most would had left it at that, a fickle attraction for a handsome face.

However Sakura had passed the point of admiring and moving on. It was after his month of absence that she realized her feelings for him. It had been when she was trying to understand why she had been angry and hurt. The answer being because her feeling for him ran far deeper than she had ever imagined. Upon this revelation she had done her best to quell such things. It had always been easy due to his indifference as well as her presence and actions seeming to always be an annoyance to him. And then there were the far more cosmic reasons. Those being that they were of other worlds. He was an immortal seraphim, and she, she was merely a mortal being.

Sakura may have whimsical and romantic dreams, but that was just it, they were dreams. She was not so small minded to think that anything of a romantic nature could ever occur between herself and the dark haired seraphim standing before her. And even if they did...she knew better than to think it would end happily, no matter how deeply she felt for him. She knew the story of Eos and Tithonus. Mortals were not meant for an immortal life.

However, in moments like this, moments in which he looked at her the way he was now, or touched her in the way that was gentle, it was easy to forget those reasons.

"Sasuke," she said so faintly and delicately it was just another breeze in the cavern. "I…"

"We should go," Sasuke quickly interrupted as he withdrew his hand away from her cheek faster than any normal eye could see. "The tide will be coming back in soon and if we linger any longer…"

He did not finish his sentence. He did not need to. They were both aware of what would happen should she remain. It was a subtle reminder of exactly what made them so different, even if their bodies and flesh seemed to be made of the same things, they were not the same.

A/N Yes I am aware glowworms are not in that region but for the sake of this story, we are going to pretend. Who knows maybe they once were and became instinct in that region or something. But I am confident in the accuracy of the tomatoes. I am giving and taking.

Anyways, sorry this seemed a bitter filler. Things will certainly progress in their relationship in the next ancient greece chapters but I needed this for the next chapter in present day as there will be some paralleling to the events. Thank you all to those who gave me feedback and welcome new followers! Hope you all had a happy new year sorry about the delay in update, December was kind of hectic and I did not get around to getting the last part done until now.