Hello, hello! Happy Winter and all the holidays that come with it! I'm back from a much-needed break after a writer's block took hold... But I'm back now! It should go without saying, if you need a quick refresher of where we are picking up after the last chapter that you should go skim it a bit because we are jumping right into where we left off, and we will not be slowing down. Enjoy!
CH 19
The water wasn't going to get any warmer, Sakura finally admitted to herself. Resigning to the goosebumps that had taken a stubborn hold of her, she pushed herself out of the tub and into the towel Sasuke had tossed at her earlier. She shook her head. No one else she knew could flip between being so tender and unequivocally...well, sexual.
She had grown fond of it.
Back in the bedroom, Tenten was still passed out on the bed with a much more peaceful expression than she had just hours before in Kabuto's possession. A grimace turned the corners of Sakura's lips at the memory.
"What do you want?" Sakura yelled, holding the bloody scalpel in front of herself again.
Kabuto grinned through Tenten. "Just to take over this world with Lord Orochimaru, " he said as his smile widened. "And to make little Sasuke pay for his arrogance!"
Sakura pushed herself up just as Kabuto suddenly lept up again. She managed to maneuver herself around Tenten's zombie-like form and pin it to the wall closest to them.
"S-Sakura, " Tenten struggled to plead.
"Tenten? Tenten..!" Sakura cried, holding her wrists to the wall. "Tenten, you have to fight him!"
"It-it hurts, " Tenten started to cry. "Please kill me, I'm begging you!"
At the end of the bed, there was a bathrobe splayed across the corner. Sakura wasted little time when swapping her towel for the robe before making an appearance out in the living room.
"How lovely," Itachi said with a hum. She looked over and saw he looked completely at home with his legs gracefully crossed and a tumbler of some sort of dark liquor in hand. Not only did he bear a resemblance to Sasuke, the melting stare he gave her brought a similar flurry of butterflies over her. She could see the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth indicating he was fully aware of what he was doing and suddenly grew frightened of the control he had with just a glance.
An arm wrapping around her shoulders pulled her from the unwanted heat swarming her body. "Enough with your party tricks, brother."
Itachi clicked his tongue and shifted his gaze elsewhere. He was just trying to spark a little mischief as he did in his good old days, but Sasuke didn't have the same sense of humor anymore it seemed. Across from him, he saw the blonde Witch fixated on his brother and looked out of the corner of his eye to see what she was so focused on and smirked. Sasuke still had his arm around the young woman and was carefully running his clawed hand up and down her arm as she gazed up at him with smiling eyes and a glowing flush. The devilman looked down at her with what could only be described as pure adoration.
'It seems there is hope for you yet, little Brother,' Itachi thought to himself, quite amused.
"How are you feeling?" Ino asked, bringing her friend's attention from the tall glass of handsome holding her by his side.
"Exhausted but better," Sakura shrugged. Her bare feet brought her into the sunken space where Itachi and Ino were lounging. She took a seat in the open armchair facing the insane view out the glass panes that were more than twice her height.
While she was absorbed by the sunset wash over the sky and Williamsburg Bridge, Ino patted the open space next to her for Sasuke to sit in. "I see you're having trouble maintaining your human skin," she said so only he could hear her. Itachi could as well but didn't let on.
Sasuke sighed and let Ino run a finger over a patch of scales on the back of his hand. "I need you to fix it."
She shook her head. "You know just as well as I do that it would only be a temporary fix." Her sapphires locked onto ruby in a cold stare. "We don't have long...if any time at all."
He knew she was right. After years of his devilish debauchery in the human realm, the once seemingly endless time he had to solidify his human heart and soul was on its last leg. Ino's hardened expression caused the guilt in his chest to throb painfully. Sasuke had tangled her in his fate with his damning deal and now had her future resting in his hands as well. They both were desperate to help him find the missing piece to his humanity, but it seemed hopeless at this point. Ino would lose all of her divine abilities, a core pillar to her identity...and Sasuke would have to return to Hell, never to surface in the human realm ever again.
A giggle pulled his attention back to his apartment. It was Sakura who had laughed. Itachi had a coy air about him and Sasuke knew his brother had mocked him in some way to get that reaction from the woman near him. Instead of feeling annoyed, he only felt the pain in his chest sink deeper inside of him. If he were to fall back into Hell, he would never hear that giggle or see those eyes, full of life and hope, ever again. Of all the experiences and memories he had collected as a human, those that he shared with Sakura were the most cherished of them all.
His eyes widened. While he knew his fate was inevitably drawn out before him, he knew he could at least help Sakura with hers. Beside him, he could feel Ino cocking her head to the side. She could sense his energy change and wanted to know what the devil was plotting.
"H-hello? Sakura..?"
Sakura shot up to her feet and went running to Sasuke's bedroom as soon as she heard Tenten's voice croak out her name. "Tenten..!"
Ino took the opportunity to demand information from the brooding man beside her. "What's going on in that thick skull of yours?"
Sasuke shot her a glare from the corner of his eye but knew it wasn't worth arguing over at that point. "We don't know how much time I have left, so I want to be strategic about it."
"Is that so?" Ino deadpanned. She could only imagine what the man beside her wanted to do with his final days. The first and only thing that came to mind was a giant orgy. Still, she put on her best mask of patience and waited for him to elaborate.
"I want to go to Hell and retrieve Kiba's soul."
His companions sat frozen in place as they both replayed what he had just said in their shocked minds.
"What?" Ino finally managed, more confused than ever. "Wha…..Why..?"
Sasuke ran his claws through his hair and moved his gaze to his bedroom doors where he could faintly hear Sakura talking to her friend. "She deserves to be free from all her guilt and worrying about him."
Itachi didn't even blink. "That's Orochimaru's domain now, Sasuke. You would be walking into enemy territory."
Ino bit into her bottom lip and focused on her lap as her eyes began to water. Everything felt undeniably different, including Sasuke's tone. He was resigning himself to his fate and laying out his final will - to do right by Sakura.
"Are you doubting my strength?" Sasuke growled.
The elder of the two sighed. Once Sasuke had his mindset on something, he knew there was no turning back. "No, little brother."
"Then shut up."
Itachi pursed his lips and tried to focus on soothing thoughts of rippling flames licking at his brother's carcass. "Very well, then."
Sasuke pulled out his phone and started tapping vigorously on the small screen. "What are you doing?" Ino demanded.
He kept his eyes glued to his screen as the device pinged a few times. "Texting Gaara. The two of you will send me back down and bring me back with Kiba's soul."
"Are you crazy?" Ino blanched.
Sasuke looked up then, his eyes stone cold. Ino felt the tension...no, Sasuke's dark forces, choke her. "I'm your master and you will do this for me."
She nodded.
A moment later, she gasped as he released his invisible hold on her throat. He knew how against this idea she was since it was a risky accelerator into a damned fate she still had hopes of avoiding altogether. Still, Sasuke was set on completing this final act. He couldn't figure out how to help himself, but he at least knew how he could help Sakura.
Ino put a light hand to her throat to soothe it as her heart ached. The room was quiet and all she wanted to do was scream. She loved Sakura and had grown to consider her one of her closest friends. Still, that didn't mean she was ready to sacrifice her world for the girl. Hardened eyes slowly found Sasuke standing by the windows with his shoulders squared. He was standing straighter than usual, and when he finally turned to look at her again, she saw the determination...and sympathy...written across his face. She softened.
"I'll tell Sakura to sleep in your room with Tenten and make sure they stay asleep while we're sending you down." Ino had made her way across the room to stand beside him, looking out over the city. "If...this is what you really want."
Sasuke looked down at her with a rare, small smile. "It's the best I can do."
"Knock, knock!" Ino sang as she nudged open the doors to the bedroom. She was holding a breakfast tray in her hands and used her hips to gain entry.
Both Tenten and Sakura were situated amongst the charcoal sheets, curled up close together as they chatted. Tenten, normally full of life and fight was barely sitting upright with a stack of pillows supporting her back. Her eyes were slightly hooded with exhaustion and darkened by the physical toll the day had taken on her.
"I brought some more tea for you both," Ino explained as she held out two steaming mugs. "And some snacks."
Sakura passed a mug to Tenten as the two thanked Ino for taking care of them. "It smells great, what kind of tea is it?"
The Witch sat on the edge of the bed. "It's a mixture of florals and herbs I put together. Since it's getting pretty late, I figured it would be good to help you sleep."
Tenten cocked her head to the side. "Sleep? Aren't we going home?" She had enough for one day and wanted to hide away in her apartment.
"It's already pretty late out and we figured it may be best you both stay here tonight where you can be safe." Ino watched as Tenten shrugged, not having much in her to argue while Sakura furrowed her brow.
"Will you be staying here too?" Sakura asked.
"Of course," the blonde smiled. Sakura could see her eyes didn't match her lips in their expression but chose not to press on anything. "You two will be sleeping in here and I'll be in the second bedroom across the apartment. The guys will be on the couches, so just a heads up."
"Are you sure Sasuke's okay with us taking his bed?" Sakura asked, shifting on the nicest mattress she had ever laid on in her life.
Ino grinned as she pushed herself off the bed. "He insisted. Get some rest and I'll see you both in the morning."
When the doors clicked shut, Sakura immediately crawled off the bed to put an ear to the door. There was something going on that Ino wasn't telling her and she didn't like it. Despite her gut feeling, she couldn't bring herself to open the doors and confront them. Instead, she turned around to meet Tenten's confused face.
"What's going on?" She whispered from her nest of blankets.
Sakura sighed and then climbed back onto the bed beside her. She could tell Tenten the truth, but that would truly be a can of worms she didn't have the energy to manage. Lucky for her, when she woke up, Tenten couldn't recall much at all from the day's attack. Sakura told her there was a collapse within the clinic and she had been caught in the rubble. Even though she only had a few cuts, bruises and an odd stab wound on her leg blamed on some glass, she believed Sakura. It was easier to do that than to push on the dark nightmares in the back of her mind.
Sakura shrugged as she pulled a blanket around herself. "I think she's just worried about us getting some proper rest, is all." She picked up her tea. "Let's take advantage of this impromptu hotel while we can!"
Back in the living room, the three others waited with various levels of patience for the time to pass so they could begin their night's work. Sasuke looked at Ino expectantly as she sat down on the couch. "They should be out plenty before twelve," she assured him.
A few more hours passed and the chatter in the bedroom had long been dead. Gaara was on his way up in the elevator, so Ino checked on the two slumbering women to make sure they were truly fast asleep. Cracking the door enough to slip in, she picked up the tray from beside the bed and saw both mugs were empty and the snacks were mostly eaten. She had laced the tea with few drops of her own homemade sleeping tincture that she loved to use herself on nights when it was hard to sleep. With a small smile of victory, she retreated from the room and nodded in confirmation at the men across the living room.
When the moon seemed to be at its brightest around midnight, there was a buzz from downstairs.
"Hello all," Gaara greeted as he glided into the apartment. He was wrapped in a black coat and yellow ochre scarf that sat just below his lips. Sasuke walked to stand in front of him and locked eyes with the Summoner.
They stood like that for a moment, neither saying a word or making any gestures. Ino wondered if they were somehow reading each other's minds but Itachi knew Sasuke was just taking another step toward fully accepting his own decision to return to Hell, even if presumably just temporarily.
Once Sasuke had broken his deadlock stare, he turned to the others. "Let's begin."
The plush rug was rolled in the corner of the room, blocked in by the bedside table and armchair also moved out of the way. Ino was setting up a collection of candles along the perimeter of the small room while Gaara drew a series of shapes and sigils in the center with chalk.
"This will be my first attempt at sending someone back into Hell, so I won't aim deeper than Limbo," the stoic man explained.
"Hn. That's fine," Sasuke muttered.
"But," Ino interjected, "How far down do you need to go to find Kiba's soul?"
Itachi was the one to answer. "The Sixth Circle of Heresy."
"I'm ready," Gaara announced, sending a wave of silence through the room. Ino had her mouth open to object but quickly locked it shut as she felt obligated to hold back her concerns.
Sasuke made his way to the center of the diagram while unbuttoning his shirt. He tossed it to the pile of furniture and quietly let out a breath as he brought himself to the ground. The others slowly circled around him as they prepared themselves for all of the spiritual labor they would be required to complete. Though he once the King of Hell, Sasuke seemed more like a mere mortal man than ever before as he barely masked his nerves. Ino felt the pit growing in her stomach, witnessing the trepidation on Sasuke's face.
The group began to chant then, eyes slowly falling closed as concentration rose. The room began to grow warm and the air thickened. Once it was time, Gaara released Ino and Itachi's hands to approach Sasuke's still form. Feeling his presence beside him, Sasuke opened his eyes and watched as the man slit his own hand to draw blood. The red oozed from his palm and was used as paint to draw more symbols onto Sasuke's forehead and chest. Gaara stepped back to the others and continued their chants.
And then there was the pain.
Excruciating, unspeakable, Hell-summoned pain.
At first, his jaw locked to hold it down, but in a matter of seconds, it became too much. A crackling yell of agony broke out and then a wave of even more powerful screams echoed through the apartment. Everyone around him fought back on their instinct to put an end to it, to shake Sasuke from his torment, but it was too late. Every muscle in his body was clenching and burning and his back arched painfully as it smudged the chalk lines beneath him.
And as quickly as the screams and tidal waves of pain took over, they then suddenly dissipated. No one dared to move. As they continued to watch, they saw the final phase begin. The blood, now smeared and mixed with sweat on Sasuke's body began to glow. A deeply pitched hum filled the room and a vibration shook in everyone's core. The human body of the former Satan was still again.
They did it, they all realized. Sasuke was on his way back into Hell. What they didn't realize was that they weren't the only ones waiting and watching. Deep down below, at the most purely rotten point in Hell, the reigning Satan stirred.
Yellow eyes snapped open and dilated in the dark tundra he resided in. Orochimaru's gruesome lips curled back to reveal a collection of jagged and flesh-hungry fangs. He could feel Sasuke's presence in the outermost parts of Hell, which was no longer that brat's to control. When Orochimaru was a demon working his way up, he had waited century after century for Sasuke to complete his term as Satan, impatiently waiting for his chance to dominate the realm he always knew was destined to be HIS. Oh, how he savored every aspect of his domination of the realm… It made him hungry for more. No matter how many damned souls he tortured and mangled, it wasn't enough. He wanted something bigger, something more heinous… He wanted that mortal world.
The truth of the matter is that he would have long ago clawed his way out and sent his armies of demons on a rampage, but Sasuke, being the pest he always had been, was in the way. When Orochimaru openly fantasized about the conquering, Sasuke berated him. He believed the balance was dependent on the separation of their worlds. Orochimaru believed the so-called balance was Sasuke's contentment. But now...he began salivating all over the damned souls he was chewing on...he would have his chance to permanently rid himself of that pathetically soft nuisance so he could then take over the mortal world. With Sasuke in his clutches in Hell, there was nothing that could stop him..!
"Kariiinnn," he hissed, his voice traveling to the hell-bent woman's inner mind. "It is time!"
The redhead gasped and shot upright. Her head was pounding and she felt the clammy sweat across her body on every inch of her skin. She was on the floor of her living room, bruised and aching still from her fight back in the clinic. She looked around to see if there was anyone else in the apartment with her, but only found the familiar stillness of isolation she knew too well.
"Karin..!" The voice shouted again, causing her to jump.
"Y-yes, sorry! Sorry!" She clambered to her feet and scampered to her room to find the scribbled spell Kabuto sent her from Below. There was no going back now, she reminded herself, not all that certain if she even cared.
Back outside the locked guest bedroom door in Sasuke's apartment, Sakura stood pressed against the wall as her chest heaved with adrenaline. While Tenten sipped every drop of Ino's tea, Sakura sneakily poured it into a planter beside the bed. She knew the group was up to something and didn't think Ino would trust her to idly sit around...awake. Just as she suspected, Tenten was soon out like a light, leaving Sakura to quietly eavesdrop from the bed. When Sasuke's screams subsided and the ominous hum filled the air, she decided it was time to creep to the other side of the apartment to see what was going on.
From the bits and pieces of what she could hear, she understood Sasuke was now in the bowels of Hell. The vibration in the air made her stomach churn and her lungs struggle. A sinister red glow bled from under the door. She wanted so badly to go inside, but what was the point? He was already gone and she knew better than to think she had the ability to undo that.
Just a few breaths later, a terrible rupturing sounded from inside. The light grew brighter and the humming louder, like an airplane engine in an echo chamber.
"What's happening?" She heard Ino yell.
"The gateway-" Itachi had started to say. She would have heard the rest, but Ino's horrifying scream washed it out. An eruption of force was heard and Sakura couldn't breathe as she heard the distinct sound of a body slamming into the wall right behind her.
"Gaara..!" Itachi shouted
Before she could even think to run, the door ripped open and the face of a familiar blood-smothered demon emerged. Her eyes widened in shock which only caused the summoned monster to smile in such a way that she could see every single one of its wet razor-like fangs.
"Oh, how unfortunate for you!" The creature cackled. It lunged forward and pinned Sakura to the wall. "You've ruined everything for me!"
Sakura was paralyzed by the force of the impact but gasped when she met the yellow eyes of her attacker. "It's you," she choked out.
"The flesh toy Sasuke is so enthralled by," Orochimaru purred. "How delightful that our stars aligned once again, dear…"
An injured Itachi dragged himself from the room, gritting his teeth. Sakura panicked further when she was able to see he was covered in blood...blood that was absolutely too much to be his own. "Why are you here?" He managed to ask, the demand venomous with hate.
"I am here to celebrate my own first steps of claiming this world as my dominion and rid it of any potential pests in my way," Orochimaru explained, his voice smug and grip on Sakura still strong. "Not that she carries any consequence, but I am just too tempted to destroy this whorish scrap first."
Sakura gasped as the claws on her throat tightened. "I could kill you right now and be done with you, but I feel that would be too merciful," Orochimaru hissed. His jaw tightened and then released as a sickening smile formed on his crusty black lips. "I know what I'll do with you."
Itachi winced under the pain of his shattered leg he was forced to drag behind him. Quietly he summoned his limited but still present powers to rebuild what was broken. He could feel the fragments unifying underneath his skin and muscles. Meanwhile, Orochimaru managed to lose himself to his own monologue of reasons for hating Sasuke addressed to Sakura. The snake demon was going to destroy Sasuke in Hell later but wanted to also make those important to the twerp suffer as well. Even with the time gained from all the talking, Itachi feared there wasn't going to be enough for him to be able to save Sakura.
And his fears quickly proved to come true.
"Instead of slaughtering you into a simple demise, I'm going to submit you to the worst torture of all…" Orochimaru cocked his head to the side in thought. "Death would probably just send your goody-two-shoes ass to a simple afterlife and I just can't have that. So instead, I'm going to send you straight to Hell..!" Orochimaru hissed.
Itachi cursed and knew he couldn't wait any longer, no matter how poor his chances were of saving Sakura. He summoned his force into his uninjured leg and shifted to lunge at the demon. But as he did, Orochimaru had already reeled back his unengaged arm, then glowing with pitch-black energy and slammed it into Sakura's chest.
Her resulting scream filled every vein in Itachi's body until she slackened like a rag doll against the wall. Orochimaru dropped the woman's body to the hardwood floor and then turned back to Itachi, still on the ground and seething with a myriad of emotions.
"Don't be sad, my darling senior Satan. You'll get the simpler solution," Orochimaru smiled.
"If you kill me, I'll go back to Hell where I can summon my own demons to destroy you," he warned the reigning Satan.
Orochimaru responded with a boisterous laugh as though he had told the joke of a lifetime. "You think I'm going to let you roam free down there? What a fool." He stalked closer to him and without a second more of a delay, used his blood-caked claws to pierce him through the heart.
He smiled, satisfied with his quick work of the two pests. This was such good fun.
As Itachi fell with little grace, he summoned every drop of what was left of his mortal life force and lit the forbidden black flame in his hand to strike Orochimaru. He managed to scrape his arm just before he hit the ground and that proved to be just enough to spread the eternally burning flame onto his wretched opponent.
"Aaagghhhh!" Orochimaru screamed, his arm burning and sizzling relentlessly. He knew that black flame all too well and didn't risk hesitating for even a moment as he used his own claws to slash off his cursed arm. More screams ensued as thick, inky blood spewed from his shoulder.
Panting, he looked down at Itachi. At least he was finally dead.
But there was one more!
Orochimaru whipped inside the bedroom and scanned the room for Ino, leaking his own blood everywhere. He shoved Gaara's mangled corpse aside and growled when he didn't see the Witch behind him or anywhere else in the room. Sasuke's glowing body remained untouchable, seeing as he needed to keep him alive for use as a portal back to his throne in Hell. But where did Ino go? Just as he turned to the window facing the city, he heard footsteps behind him and the sound of the door hitting the wall.
"I'm going to get you…!" Orochimaru screamed, racing from the room and after his blonde prey. He could hear his own pulse in his ears, his adrenaline taking over.
As he suspected, the front door was wide open and from across the apartment he heard the door to the stairwell slam open as well. Charging at breakneck speed, he followed Ino's trail and -
He stopped.
Not by choice, but by force.
Orochimaru's eyes widened as Ino seemed to vaporize into view in front of him, the invisibility spell she had managed to cast on herself wearing off. Her face was tear-streaked and splattered with the blood of the deceased Gaara and her hands were out in front of her clutching the knife the wretched demon had just run straight into.
No words were exchanged, but their eyes stayed locked onto each other as Orochimaru slowly slumped to his knees. He couldn't believe it. He had only arrived moments ago, how could he already be going back to Hell? His breath became heavy like lead, stirring confusion in him. It didn't feel right. He felt his mind slowing as well, but at such a rapid pace. What was happening to him?
Suddenly, his eyes widened and his breath hitched. Orochimaru managed to look down at his shoulder and saw not just the cut where he severed his arm, but rot. Itachi didn't just curse his limb with an eternally burning flame...he also cursed him with complete mortality. Orochimaru wasn't just going to fade out and find his way back in his throne in Hell, he was going to truly die… Where he would end up after, he did not know.
"Curse you, Itachi…"Faster than he had expected, the darkness and silence enveloped him as the new sensation of death finally took him.
Cold, damp grass chilled the side of her face and sent a shiver down her spine. Her fingers tentatively curled into the dirt as her eyes cracked open. There was a misty fog in the air that made it hard to see very far, but from what she could make of her surroundings, it seemed like she was in a forest.
Sakura slowly sat up and looked around with more focus. There were clusters of sullen trees, some big rocks scattered about, and that persistent fog that kept her just cold enough to be uncomfortable. Then she gasped. Was she dead?
She looked down at her hands and body. She could feel her own pulse but wasn't sure what to make of that. From what she could tell, aside from being damp and cold, she felt alive. She was dressed in a less-than-flattering grey tunic and didn't have any shoes.
The wind howled, startling her. Not wanting to stay where she was but also not sure what was around, she got up to wander ahead. What started out as a few minutes most surely evolved into hours. The faded grass and moss beneath her remained chilled and slick and the fog kept her consistently disoriented and on edge. Just when she was about to stop and kneel for a break, there was a twig snap behind her.
Her head quickly turned to face the direction of the sound and her pulse picked up. She wanted to speak out and ask who was there, but she wasn't sure she actually wanted to know.
The rustling of a bush sounded even closer. She started to run.
Without even noticing, tears began pouring from her eyes as the fear took over. She felt her lungs start to burn and the heavy material of her tunic preventing her from running with more agility. Where was she? What was chasing her? Her eyes widened. She remembered Karin.
"I'm going to send you straight to Hell..!"
She was in Hell. She was being chased down in Hell. Sakura began to sob, causing her to become more out of breath and made it harder to weave through the trees. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and felt her legs start to burn. Ahead, when it was already too late, she saw someone. The predator that had been chasing her all this time. Her legs slowed as the form grew nearer. There was no more running...this was it.
When her chaser was just a few yards away, she fell to her knees with relief. It was Sasuke.
"Oh, God, thank you," she panted as he reached her.
"There's no god to thank down here," he informed her, his hands digging into his pockets.
She looked up at him through wet eyelashes and saw he was dressed in a similar material, only it was black and fashioned into a long-sleeved shirt and pants. His eyes were glowing brighter and redder than she had ever seen them before and the whites were black like his clothing. Upon further inspection, she noticed his body seemed paler, harder and more angular.
"This is my 'human' form here," he explained, noticing her observant eyes.
"Why aren't you in your full demon form?" She asked as she took his hand to stand again.
"I didn't want to startle you more than I already did." He smirked at her, bringing a small smile to her face.
Sakura then crushed herself against Sasuke's chest, gripping him hard in her hold. He quietly enclosed her in his arms and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He could feel her trembling as she fought to hold back tears.
"Are...we in Hell?" She forced herself to ask.
"We're in Limbo, the outermost part of Hell." He met her concerned jade eyes and held them. "How did you get here?"
"Great question," a voice chimed in. Both Sasuke and Sakura turned to see a demon standing a few trees away from them. "But I can't say it will change what will happen to you now that you're here."
Sasuke pulled Sakura around and behind him, his arm acting as a barrier. "Kabuto."
Sakura's eyes widened as she then recognized Kabuto's facial features in the monstrous demon in front of them. She also noticed the collection of equally heinous demons lined up behind him.
"My, my, what a treat to see you down here in your old stomping grounds," Kabuto mused. "Are you looking to take back your throne?" He slowly sauntered closer and Sasuke only kept Sakura a step behind himself.
"What are you talking about?" He spat, not in the mood for Kabuto's antics.
"Don't you feel it?" Kabuto asked, cocking his head. "You can't be that thick-headed from your time with the mortals."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes but quietly focused his energy and centered himself. A moment later his eyes snapped open. "There is a void in the Center," he muttered in disbelief.
"There we go!" Kabuto clapped.
"What void?" Sakura asked in a whisper. The demons still caught her question.
"Great question, stupid human. You see, for the first time in the history of existence, there is no Satan." Kabuto's words echoed in the forest.
Sakura could feel Sasuke tense further in front of her. The demons had slowly circled around them and she desperately curled her hand in the fabric on his back to stay close.
"With such an opportunity as this for myself, I can't have the likes of you wandering around," Kabuto shrugged. He snapped his clawed fingers and the small army behind him began to stalk forward with their hungry grins baring fangs and zero empathy.
"Out of my way," Sasuke ordered the dozen or so demons as they closed in.
"My, my. You talk as though you're the Satan running the show here." The demons parted to let Kabuto in. "But let's be clear," he continued with his smug grin, "you're not."
Sasuke knew and understood that to be true, but being back in Hell did have its advantages. He could feel the dark energy all around him and his proximity to the Center gave him some of the strength he admittedly missed from his days as Satan.
"This is true," Sasuke started to say with a smug grin of his own. "But I was."
And in just a matter of seconds, his skin morphed and hardened into a black and scaly finish with thick onyx claws to match. Two sharp horns protruded from his temples, curling slightly. His body grew to almost twice its human size and became more beast-like, with a feral growl rumbling from within. Sakura gasped and took a step back as bones pierced through the skin on his back to form hand-shaped wings. Even with her medical background, she found herself on the edge of vomiting as she watched bat-like skin grow on and between the finger webbing of the demonic wings.
"Submit to me or I will destroy you," Sasuke's voice boomed.
Kabuto began shaking with excitement after witnessing such a powerful transformation. He began laughing maniacally. "What are you all waiting for? Rip them to pieces!"
"Sasuke," Sakura's voice called desperately. She was helpless and terrified, even though she was already presumably dead down there. But if there was even an ounce of truth in what Kabuto said, she did not want to find out what he had in mind for her.
She saw Sasuke look over his shoulder at her and grin. "Relax, baby."
And while she couldn't relax, she watched in awe as he moved with lightning speed to shred and slaughter the attacking demons in seconds. Kabuto was the only one remaining and was left seething in front of the mangled bodies and pools of black blood.
Kabuto slowly smirked and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. The grey-haired demon began to unravel, morphing into tangles of snakes. Before he could spin around upon realizing he had been tricked, he heard Sakura's yelp. Behind him, the real Kabuto had her in his arms as newly spawned demons lurked in from the surrounding woods.
"Tsk, tsk. I expected so much more from a former Satan such as yourself." He laughed, gripping Sakura tighter when she squirmed.
"Release her," Sasuke growled.
Kabuto only batted his eyes. "Or what?" He laughed. "You lost, Sasuke."
Sakura counted at least forty demons around them and could only assume there were more behind her. She tried her best to keep calm, but the anger rippling off of Sasuke's livid form was making it difficult.
"Once I kill her soul, which Circle should I imprison it within? I hear the pits of the Eighth Circle are particularly gruesome these days, perfect for a whore like her to suffer in." Kabuto took a long claw to her throat, ready to plunge it into her.
"Last chance," Sasuke warned, his fangs growing and his body shaking with anger.
"Or what? We're dying to know!" Kabuto started laughing and scraped a thin cut straight down Sakura's neck for Sasuke to see. He laughed louder and the circle of demons began laughing, too.
The cacophony of bellowing laughs and cackles filled the otherwise silent forest of Limbo. The once terrifying and ruthless Satan Sasuke was now just a lovesick worm, paralyzed by a mortal's life.
But while the crowd was getting their fill of comedy, Sakura watched in wide-eyed terror as Sasuke continued to morph into something even darker, more heinous than his demon form. His shoulders just about doubled in size as did the rest of his muscles and claws. What sections of skin he had left were then covered in thick scales harder than steel. His face became unrecognizable and beastly, his eyes still bright red but now blinded by hate and bloodthirst. This, Sakura knew, was the Satan.
A high-pitched scream assaulted her left ear as Kabuto released her suddenly. She stumbled forward and looked back to see her captor's lower half was engulfed in black flames. The flames didn't inch any higher up his body and his screams didn't die down either. He was trapped in his agony. Sasuke roared, stunning the collected demons as he summoned a circle of more black flames to trap them all in with him.
"You think I'm weak?" He shouted, his overwhelming power thundering through all of Limbo. Sakura covered her head as his monstrous form stepped over her.
The demons tried to run away but were trapped by the undying wall of flames. When Sasuke suddenly began snatching them up and eating them, some desperately tried breaking through the flames, only to meet their demise by hellfire instead.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, watching in horror as he terrorized and made quick work of the remaining demons. While he ignored her and carried on with his sick pleasure, someone else did hear her cry.
It was Itachi.
Just outside the ring of black fire, he observed his foolish brother overcome by fury and ego. He shook his head. While he wasn't all that surprised, this was going to be more exhausting of a task than he wanted to deal with. As he readied himself to enter the flamed arena, he noticed Sakura getting up and...running toward Sasuke.
Itachi charged ahead, leaping into the circle but quickly realizing he wasn't fast enough. He watched in silent horror as she fearlessly ran as fast as her legs could take her. In his state of mind, Sasuke was regressing into a raw and violent demon. Sakura didn't know it, but if Sasuke didn't pull himself back into control, the other Circles would sense his chaotic energy and be drawn out of their holes. Limbo was no place for a demon like him.
Sakura reached the former Satan as he reeled back to rip apart a cornered demon. She knew what she was doing was crazy and reckless, but she also knew this wasn't Sasuke. This was the Devil. Yes, Satan was a part of Sasuke, but it wasn't all that he was. Sasuke was kind, flirtatious, slow to show his feelings but passionate when he did. This creature, full of nothing but bloodlust and pain, was not who he was and not who she knew he wanted to be.
Her arms wrapped around his leg. Itachi froze in his place, shocked when Sasuke did as well. "Please stop," she pleaded with a shaking voice. "Please!"
Time seemed to stop for a moment as they all absorbed the shock of her actions.
"Sakura," Sasuke managed to say, slowly lowering his arm.
The demon cowering before him dropped to its knees, pushing its head flat against the dirt. Sasuke blinked slowly as his body shifted back to his neutral form like when he first found her.. Sakura never let go, leaving Sasuke to find her on her knees still clutching the back of his leg.
"Sakura," he said again, this time in the familiar deep voice she was relieved to recognize. She looked up, eyes glossed over with unshed tears. The first thing she noticed was the exhaustion and shame filling his stare down at her. She knew without a word being exchanged between them that he didn't mean to lose himself so deep to his abilities like that, and he knew that she was still for him through such an event. "Thank you."
The second thing that she noticed was that he was completely naked. She kept her eyes locked on his and held her breath as he turned around before kneeling in front of her. "Are you okay?" She asked, not knowing what else to say.
"I should be asking you that," he admitted. His clawed hand reached out with exercised caution and stroked her red cheek.
Itachi remained utterly paralyzed where he stood as he watched the pair after such a miraculous event. He watched his brother lean down to tenderly kiss the mortal woman who was never in a million lifetimes meant to be in Hell. There would never be a purpose -
He gasped.
Her purpose...or rather, her destiny.
As he watched Sasuke relax his shoulders in her embrace, he scolded himself for not seeing it sooner. Sakura was Sasuke's destined partner. She was his Lilith. Itachi felt a faint smile find his lips.
"Brother?" Sasuke asked, perplexed by his presence. "What are you doing here?"
Itachi shook his head. He was standing with his foot firmly planted on the back of Kabuto's head, preventing him from moving around much while his legs remained indefinitely aflame. "Do you even know why she's here?"
Sasuke flushed, possibly a first for Sakura to see. Itachi remained unphased. "Orochimaru ambushed us through the portal you created. As an act of spite, he chose to cast Sakura to Hell before killing me."
"What about the others?" Sasuke asked.
Itachi looked away for a moment. Sasuke grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Tell me, Itachi." Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, already fearing the worst.
"I saw Ino casting an invisibility spell on herself before I died, but Gaara… He didn't survive the initial attack, I'm afraid."
Sasuke's grip slackened as his gaze fell to the ground. "Ah."
"Is...is he here somewhere?" Sakura bit her lip, looking between the two of them.
Itachi smiled at her. "No, he is rightfully elsewhere, as are most other destined Summoners."
She nodded, deciding that would be enough information to carry on for now. Sasuke nodded as well and straightened his spine.
"I can sense the unchecked chaos festering here," Itachi observed, the air full of erratic vibrations. "Without any authority, the Circles will run themselves to ruin… Or worse."
In the distance, they could hear the roars and shrieks of the beasts that formerly bowed down to Orochimaru. In his absence, they were roaming free without anyone to stop them. And they were getting closer.
"We have to step in," Sasuke looked down at Sakura and frowned. This was a disaster of ungodly proportions like nothing the universe had ever seen before, bubbling before an eruption. He had worked so hard to escape this world, was he really willing to risk everything and end up back where he started? Those emerald eyes searched him desperately. He wanted nothing more than to be with Sakura and live his life through as a human, but he knew that wasn't even an option with the turn of events they were currently plagued by. He had no choice but to return to his role as-
In the distance, there was a blur of movement as a barrage of lower demons closed in on them. Both Sasuke and Itachi braced themselves, ready to fight. The elder of the two picked up Kabuto by his hair and held him out for the approaching mob to see. Free from the dirt that silenced him before, he began screaming again from the pain of the black flames.
"Sasuke," Sakura called out with a somewhat steady voice. "What should I do?"
He took a second to devise a plan and once he did, he turned to her with a softened gaze. "Do you trust me?" Sakura felt her breath hitch at the sound of his deep voice speaking so intimately to her. She nodded, forcing herself to focus on him and not the horrific wave of demons approaching. "Demon," Sasuke barked. The sole remaining creature from Kabuto's attack looked up submissively at Sasuke. "Come here."
She felt her stomach flip and panic start to build inside her suddenly as it got closer. What was he going to do with it?
"I am your master, correct?" His voice carried farther than when he was speaking to her a moment before. The demon, back on its knees, nodded vigorously. Sasuke bared his fangs. "Say it!"
It brought its face back down to the dirt. "You are my master, I'll do anything you wish, Satan Sasuke!"
Sasuke calmed himself and straightened up once more. "You will protect this human with your life, understood?" Sakura shot him a look of fear, but he ignored her. "I will not tolerate a single hair out of place." Before she could argue, the little demon had scooped her up and created some distance between them and the others.
Itachi winked at her over his shoulder. "This shouldn't take long, dear."
It was then that the two brothers exchanged a knowing look and began morphing into their larger, menacing and demonic forms. Itachi grew clawed wings like Sasuke's but also had spikes sprouting down his spine and a waterfall of black hair grow out and to the ground. Together, they summoned a towering wall of onyx flames to erupt from the split ground in front of them.
At the sight of the two returning Satans, the crowd halted abruptly. "Is that..?" "He's back..!" "Two Satans?!" "Lord Kabuto..!"
Silence washed over them all with the exception of the screaming Kabuto, still dangling in agony. "Let there be an understanding here," Sasuke projected his voice to the point of it echoing off the trees. "This is not your leader!" In a blink, he swiped his claws across Kabuto's neck and effectively decapitated him.
"I am," Itachi declared. Sasuke almost snapped his own neck as he turned to look at his brother. "I am your current reigning Satan. Bow beneath me!"
The hundreds of bodies below suddenly dropped to their knees. The two of them were prepared for a bloody fight, but the terrifying combination of the two of them rendered such a concern beyond unnecessary.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed.
Itachi only spared him a glance. "I am the reason you came down here to begin with."
"I don't understand-"
The older brother shook his head dismissively before turning his full attention to the army of hell creatures. "Back to your Circles, be gone..!" At the command, they all ran away faster than they had appeared.
The two of them stood there unmoving, Sakura quietly watching from a distance with her demon caretaker.
Itachi finally looked up at his brother. A rare tint of regret colored his eyes. "I foresaw your future interest in Sakura in a vision years ago, soon after you retired from here. You were so young and reckless, I was worried you wouldn't figure out how to earn your keep on Earth on your own…"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "So you screwed with Kiba, knowing you could call him back at any time to show me what I had to lose?"
Itachi bowed his head. "I should have had more faith in you to find the joy of love."
Sasuke was seeing red. "Like fucking Hell you should have, and now look where we are!"
"Which is why I will pay for my mistakes and return to the Center to reign as Satan until the next one is ready."
Silence again.
"You can let her go," Sasuke muttered to their slave demon. Sakura quickly separated herself from it, but hesitated to approach the Satanic brothers.
"What happens now?" She mustered enough courage to ask.
"I will expedite my journey to the Center of Hell to reclaim it as my own, and you two," Itachi gestured with a single claw between her and his brother, "will find Kiba's soul."
Sasuke boiled. He didn't want Itachi to have to return to this life, but he knew the only other option was that he himself would return and Itachi would in no way let that happen. This was how it was going to be, until a new Satan was ready.
A hand weighed on his shoulder. "I'll have my chance to return," Itachi smirked. Sasuke grinned right back.
"How does this work?" Sakura asked dubiously. She felt so lost and had no hope of understanding the politics of the Underworld.
"I will make my way down the end and fix what unneeded chaos Orochimaru left behind. In a hundred years or so we should have a new Satan ready to take my place."
"You make it sound so simple," she muttered. Sasuke, despite still being mostly still in his Satanic form, pulled her small mortal form closer to him. He needed to feel flesh to calm himself. "S-Sasuke!" She squeaked as he nuzzled down into her neck, his horns curled right into her line of sight. She gulped upon close inspection of the pointed ends so close to her.
Itachi clucked his tongue at his brother's easily riled emotions and cleared his throat. "I can't say I have much time to waste here, so I am going to get going."
Sasuke centered himself and held Sakura at his side as he shook Itachi's outstretched hand. "I hope you will eventually forgive me," the elder confessed.
It was Sasuke's turn to smirk first this time. "I already have."
Itachi gave Sakura a surprisingly soft hug before holding her at arm's length. "You're a strong woman, Sakura Haruno. Don't let this fool scare you." Sakura smiled somberly, knowing this would probably be the last she would see of Sasuke's brother.
"Come, underling," Itachi called to the demon a short distance away. "We must go."
And with a burst of flames left in their wake, it was suddenly just Sasuke and Sakura.
"They're...gone," Sakura blinked, still not used to any of the supernatural tricks and all that was this unholy realm.
"No need to worry about him," Sasuke sighed. "Are you tired?"
It was then that she realized she was in fact exhausted. Having her mortal soul sent on such a journey had taken a toll on her. "I guess so," she admitted.
"Your soul may not have to eat down here, but you do need rest." Sasuke ran the back of his claw down her cheek, his mind wandering to how fragile she was here and how easy it would be to rip her like tissue. He was pulled from such thoughts by the touch of her hand on his.
"I don't suppose there are any hotels around here?" She joked, earning a raised eyebrow from her devilish companion.
"No, but I do have something in mind."
"Oh yeah? Is it a burning bed of coals? Sakura teased, hand on her hip.
Sasuke pulled her flush against his hard, scaly torso. "Close. It's my old sex dungeon."
So there we have it. Itachi's taking the old throne as Satan once more and Sasuke and Sakura are going to be catching up on some Z's in the old sex dungeon. Consider the gears shifted, friends. ;) I'll try to get the next chapter out soon enough as a gift of sorts to us all. As always, reviews are forever appreciated 3 Miss you all! xoxo