Thank you for the amazing feedback last chapter, and to each of you who took the time to leave comments. I appreciate it. On we go with the Underworld arc.
Chapter LXXXVIII
Into the groves they walk and find,
All quarrels and misgivings left behind.
~x~
With no sun in the sky, Sakura had little concept of time and tracking how much of it passed. She ate and slept whenever she felt the need to do so arise and filled the hours of undefined days either in the company of her attendants, or alone exploring different sections of the palace, beginning her tour with the ground floor. Given that each individual level within the sprawling royal residence comprised a very large area, the walks between locations ensured she kept active, sometimes wandering for what felt like hours at a time as she followed her map and took in wondrous new sights.
She visited the huge kitchens with Chizu, finding them to be bustling with servants, and was hit with the most delicious smells as soon as she passed through the entrance doors. There she met the talented chefs; mortal men, women and young kitchen boys and girls, all clad in plain white garb and aprons, with their hair neatly bound in cloth, sworn in service to the death deity. Every single one of them was delighted to make her acquaintance.
The kitchen was lined with wooden stools and worktops bearing all manner of cooking utensils and chopping boards. She learned that the staff were organised according to the meals they prepared. There were tables designated for the kneading of fresh bread, doughs and pastries, for desserts and fruit platters, tables for starters, soups, herbs, condiments and other appetisers, and the largest section was reserved for preparing the fabulous, artfully decorated main courses.
A fascinated Sakura came across archaic-looking food preparation tools and machinery that she didn't even recognise. Multiple, large ovens were built into the grey stone walls; two made of clay, one of stone, and two open fireplaces over which hung bubbling pots of food. Cast iron pans and cooking pots, ladles and other tools and bundles of tied, dried herbs were affixed to hanging racks attached by chains to the wooden beams that criss-crossed beneath the vaulted ceiling, from which hung candle-illuminated iron chandeliers. Large barrels of staple ingredients lined the walls, as did multiple sinks, piles of plates and polished cutlery, mops and buckets and other cleaning equipment. Arched windows carved into the stone provided ample ventilation to the area.
She was shown the pantries, with their abundant supply of labelled food jars, spices, seasoning and fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as the cellars that stored barrels of ambrosia, piles of wood and Underworld sourced coal used for cooking. She ventured into the farming gardens, separated from the royal ones she was already familiar with by high stone walls, where Underworld ingredients were sown, grown and harvested in the soil, from trees and in large glass greenhouses. None of them required sunlight to thrive. Sakura wondered whether that was why everything tasted so different. The produce in Sasuke's world had quite literally adapted to grow without light and she listened with great interest as the servants proudly explained the farming techniques they used to lovingly care for their crops.
She visited the servants' quarters, and found them to be warm, minimal and understated in their decor, yet comfortable. They were not overcrowded but surprisingly spacious; each servant was provided with their own wooden-framed bed, mattress and sheets. The men and women were assigned to different wings within the building, separated by antechambers. They had their own dining spaces, their own laundry rooms, bathrooms and washing facilities. Each one of them Sakura spoke to gushed over Sasuke and the goodness and fairness with which they were provided for and treated. It warmed her heart to see so many people so well looked after.
Inside her own room, Sakura was lavished with jewelry and beautiful gowns cut from the finest and richest of materials, spoiled for choice in what she could choose to wear. Chizu and Ume styled her hair and outfits to perfection, delivering fresh flowers to her room in what she assumed was equivalent to every surface day, and though she was unaccustomed to being assisted in dressing, in being perfumed and powdered with light applications of makeup, she bore it patiently, knowing that it brought them happiness to tend to her.
Her long walks exploring the palace led her down long, arch-lined passageways with towering, fan-vaulted ceilings. She admired the intricate designs carved into the stone, gazing in awe at the magnificence of the regal architecture. The corridors carried her to spacious lounges which contained huge, roaring fireplaces, painted mural ceilings, heavy velvet drapes, large gothic-panel windows and luxurious, reclining furniture. She passed through countless doors, came across smaller ballrooms, no less magnificent in the grandeur of their decoration and design, the dance-floors glinting with gold like stars set in an onyx sky. She ventured into impeccably tended, spacious courtyards and walked through the gardens, delighting in their beauty once again. Any servants she saw along the way, she greeted cheerfully. They were startled and nervous at first, as if they were not accustomed to being noticed at all, but Sakura took the time to ask each of them their names, and gradually they began to warm up to her, returning her smiles with courtesy.
She saw Sasuke every so often. Sometimes he joined her for a meal and other times he accompanied her on walks through the palace grounds and gardens. Their conversations consisted mostly of Sakura asking questions about the kingdom, or beginning topics of general interest which he obliged. As time passed on, Sakura found that she was acclimatising to and settling back into the Underworld relatively quickly. It was much easier, when there were no lies or secrets, when they had nothing to hide from one another and yet, even despite that fact, often the silences that would settle between them still felt heavy and awkward, much to Sakura's dismay.
He had not ventured with her outside the palace since their visit to the Land of Dreams. She understood that Sasuke had many duties to attend to that demanded his time, but a part of her also worried whether he was still deliberately keeping a measured distance. He had not initiated any form of physical contact, and after holding his hand, Sakura felt uncertain as to why he continued to be reserved. Her own insecurities often got the better of her, leaving her anxious and worried, questioning whether she was expecting too much of him too soon, when Sasuke was clearly holding back - but told herself to be patient. To focus on warming up to each other's company first, and getting used to simply conversing openly again.
The time they spent together always seemed to pass far too quickly, regardless. Sakura's heart always fluttered at the sight of him. Handsome, regal, confident, radiating a darkly dangerous allure - could she be blamed for finding him so striking, for her inability to look away? He was the very same deity who had been ready to lose possession of his own free-will in order to save her life.
Was he second-guessing things himself? Sakura found herself wondering. His kiss had told her otherwise, full of desperation and a hunger that had stolen the strength from her bones. So why did she feel like some barriers still remained between them? That overriding question, hanging unanswered between them, was torture. With no way to track time, she could not guage how long they spent, skirting around one another, or how much of it passed between each instance she saw him.
When she descended to the training dome alone, hoping to draw him to her - because he'd never allowed her to engage enemies by herself in the past - still he did not appear. She would only fight the first few levels, afraid of summoning a monster that was beyond her capabilities to battle on her own, before returning to the palace's upper grounds. When she asked Sasuke during dinner on one occasion whether he would spar with her, he'd responded that his duties were keeping him occupied. Confused, she had dropped the subject, her suspicions that perhaps he was choosing to deliberately avoid her magnifying. It had then crossed her mind - why sparring specifically? Was it because it required physical proximity? Was that the root of the issue?
Disappointed if that were the case, Sakura could only hold out hope that as time continued to pass, Sasuke would slowly grow more comfortable with being as open with her, as she was doing her very best to be with him.
~x~
"We meet again," Suigetsu declared, crossing his ankles as he slurped water casually from his bottle, his sandal-clad feet resting leisurely atop the back of the row of benches in front of him.
He had alighted at the High Council grounds, responding to a request from one of Jiraiya's toads that had arrived at one of his palace's underwater. The summons had carried a message to attend a meeting with the surface gods. Curious as to what they had to say, he'd decided to accept the invitation and had arrived to find them all waiting for him in the assembly chamber.
Seated in the very same room in which he had been put to trial and sentenced, he quipped, "You guys just can't get enough of me, huh?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Tsunade responded, her words cutting.
Suigetsu smirked at her smugly, eyes dancing with their familiar mischief. "Say, Tsunade," he drawled. "I notice Pinky's not here. Guess she's buried underground for the next six months, huh? That must really suck for you."
He watched in satisfaction as Tsunade tensed, glaring daggers at him. Jiraiya reached out, placing a large hand on her shoulder. He murmured something to her, and her scowl intensified, but she did not rise to Suigetsu's bait.
Naruto, however, did, and glowered at him. "Cut that out, 'ttebayo! Sakura-chan's not buried anywhere. She's safe with Sasuke."
"Okay, my bad," Suigetsu tilted his head. "I should've said she's probably getting buried by-"
"You're disgusting!" Ino snapped. "No manners."
"Heh. Manners. So boring." He snickered, shrugging shamelessly. Then he squinted at them all, taking in the faces around the room. The guardians of Olympus were present, he noted. Interesting.
"What're they doing here?" he questioned, eyes narrowing at Killer B and the huge, bandaged blade that rested on his back. The sword that Suigetsu recognised was rightfully his own, and was still bitter about the fact he had been forced to part with.
"We are assisting in the search for Orochimaru's bases," Gaara informed him.
"Waste of time," Suigetsu waved. "We already nuked most of them."
"You didn't get the main one," Shikamaru pointed out, leaning against the first row of benches on the opposite side of the room. Folding his arms across his chest, he expanded, "He's still conducting his experiments, and now he's got the ANBU at his disposal, too."
"Huh. I thought those ANBU were under your control?" He blinked, suddenly noticing the individuals absent from the gathering. "Speaking of which, where is that asshole Danzo? And where's Homura?"
"Sasuke took Danzo out," Naruto said.
"Homura was paralysed when we were attacked by Ares, who infiltrated our grounds by possessing Asuma's corpse. We lost some of our companions just before our powers were unsealed, when we were attacked by White Zetsu," Jiraiya explained.
Suigetsu, who had lifted the straw of his bottle to his lips once more, paused. Blinking in surprise, he demanded, "Sasuke took Danzo out? You mean, he's dead?" He glanced at Koharu, bemused. "And you're okay with that? You guys didn't punish him?"
"Danzo was corrupt," Kakashi answered. "And we had reason to believe he was working with Orochimaru himself. He warped Sasuke away from here after he and Sakura escaped from Cronus on Olympus, and intended to take his Sharingan-"
Suigetsu sat upright, paying full attention. All of this was news to him. "Wait, what? Sasuke and Sakura were on Olympus? With Cronus?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What the fuck? When did all this shit happen?"
"While you were busy minding your own affairs," Tsunade shot back.
"Well how'd they even get caught?"
"You mean, you're actually interested?" Ino intoned, her words dripping acid.
The ocean deity snorted, flashing a sharp grin at them. "Hell no. I just wanna know how Sasuke fell flat on his ass."
"It's not a joke, damn it!" Naruto shook his fist at the sea king. "Sakura-chan almost died up there, and Sasuke was almost paralysed by the curse seal!"
Suigetsu's smile waned. He was quiet for a long minute. "Who're they?" he finally nodded at the chirpy-looking mint-haired young girl who was blowing bubbles with her chewing gum and the older, stoic, red-haired man seated next to her.
"The four and seven-tailed Jinchuuriki we collected before the enemy," Kurenai clarified. "Cronus is rounding them all up."
"Are you aware of what his plans are?" Koharu questioned.
"World domination," Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "I was filled in underwater."
"Then will you not help us?" Lee pressed.
Suigetsu released a loud bark of amused laughter. "I never got involved in your shitty wars in the past, and I'm not planning on starting now."
"Still as selfish as ever." Tsunade shook her head at him in disgust.
"Look, did you bring me here for a lecture I don't wanna hear, or are you actually gonna tell me what this is all about?"
"Listen, sharkface," Ino glared, advancing on him, her eyes burning with anger. "This is your problem, too."
Suigetsu looked positively bored. "Pinky already gave me the save-the-world speech, don't be a broken record."
"You jerk! If Cronus gets his hands on all the tailed-beasts and wakes up the Ten-Tails, it's all over! He'll absorb all our functions and then we'll all be dead!"
"You better make sure he doesn't then," Suigetsu grinned at her. "'Cause that'd really suck for you."
"You included," Temari supported the blonde goddess, stepping up beside her. "Do you believe he'll ignore the oceans? He wants absolute dominion over all three realms."
"Like it or not," Shikamaru added. "War is coming. Cronus isn't going to stop until he's free of the seal that binds him to Olympus. Obito, the masked man, already holds the power of four tailed-beasts sealed within him. We can't just sit back and wait for the enemy to make his move."
"Maybe I'll take my chances," Suigetsu lifted his bottle to his lips again - but it was knocked violently out of his hand by Naruto, who flash-warped to him in an instant, sending the container clattering loudly to the tiled ground. The sun deity then grabbed hold of Suigetsu by the collar of his grey tunic, hauling him to his feet, and thrust his face close to his.
"You want a seat on Olympus?" His azure eyes blazed into Suigetsu's with an intensity that caught the ocean's king quite off guard. He'd never known Naruto to be anything other than loud-mouthed, impulsive and easy to irk. But at that moment, Zeus's son looked serious. He looked angry. He almost looked intimidating. "Do you remember who my dad is?"
"Sure," Suigetsu's amethyst eyes met his defiantly. "I remember your old man. He's the one who threw me off the Council."
"Who'd you think can get you back on?" Naruto snarled, his words reminding Suigetsu that he was the heir apparent to Olympus's crown.
"You?" Suigetsu mocked. "Oh? You all grown up and ready to play king, now?" He sneered contemptuously. "Give me a break. You have no fucking idea what it means to rule."
"I know enough to form a new High Council and lock your sorry ass up for way longer than six months if you're gonna sit this out and not help us. So you better take this threat seriously, believe it!"
With that, he roughly released him, and returned to his place beside Kakashi.
Suigetsu glowered at them as he readjusted his top. "Y'know, you're not doing a great job of convincing me."
"Perhaps," Sai mused. "Poseidon is failing to understand the gravity of the situation?"
"You think?" Kankuro muttered beneath his breath.
"What more convincing do you need?!" Ino cried, exasperated. "We just told you, we'll all die if he isn't stopped!"
"We don't know the extent of the Ten-Tailed beast's powers," Kakashi warned. "Or what the Rinne-Sharingan is capable of. This isn't a war you can survive without us, Suigetsu, and we could use your assistance, in turn."
"What's in it for me?" Suigetsu demanded. He lifted a finger before anyone could reply. "I give you the might of my oceans and all my armies and the hell do I get, huh? Don't give me that 'you'll have a seat back on the Council' crap. You promised me that before, and we all know how that turned out."
"You screwed up," Tsunade reminded him. "You were to return Sakura to me."
"Wrong, your pretty daughter screwed up by wasting time arguing with me."
"Liar. You were going to kidnap her!" Ino frowned.
"I was gonna make sure you delivered on your end of the deal and then would've handed her back. And what happened to that sword I was promised, huh?" Suigetsu jerked his head in Killer B's direction. "Another fucking lie. I'm done being treated like the court jester. You want my help? You want me to take your asses seriously? You better start doing the same."
Killer B unsheathed his blade, and slammed it down on the ground, with enough force to send a rumble through the floor.
"Yo, we out here making demands! Let's talk in a language this fool understands!" he suggested.
"The fuck you calling a fool?" Suigetsu sneered at him. "If you're about to spit those shitty bars at me, I'm out."
"I got an idea, if you wanna win!" B ignored him, gesturing animatedly with a bandaged hand. "You want this sword, you gotta swear in!"
"Uh... what're you doing, Mister?" Fū questioned curiously.
"You're giving him a chance to choose!" Killer B rapped. "Give him something he can't refuse! Oh yeah!" He swiped Samehada in front of him, and Suigetsu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he demanded, a rare display of anger openly manifesting on his features. "You think I'm falling for that shit? I'm done." He rose to his feet. "Don't call me again. You can deal with Cronus and his shitstorm on your own, or maybe he'll make me a better offer."
"Hold!" Jiraiya's voice boomed. "You have our word, you'll have your seat returned, and your sword."
"After I put in the work?" Suigetsu retorted sarcastically. "Fuck you."
"You can take Samehada now for sure," Killer B sang. "I'll lend her out, till we settle this score! Oh yeahhh!"
Suigetsu hesitated despite himself. "Lend? I don't want it lent to me. I want it for keeps."
"You can wield it," Tsunade's tone left no room for any further negotiations. "For as long as this war goes on. That's fair, and more than you deserve. Prove your loyalty, and at the end, perhaps B will let you keep it. In exchange, you give him one of the swords from your collection."
Suigetsu stared at her for a minute, mulling the offer over, and then smirked. "You're trusting me to keep my word? Maybe I'll just steal it the moment I get outta here and not come back."
"Idiot! Fool! It don't work like that!" B crowed. "If you screw us over, it'll come right back!"
"You will sign a binding contract, in blood, agreeing to the terms," Koharu stated.
"A pity," Gaara intoned, regarding Suigetsu with indifference, "that his word is not enough."
"It's no surprise," Ino scoffed. "He thinks everything is a game."
"Tch," Suigetsu rolled his eyes. Of course they'd incorporate the use of some trickery to ensure Samehada would be whisked away from him if he broke his word. He considered his options, weighing risk against gain. If Cronus truly did plan what Sakura had told him about already, then he knew, logically, rationally, that the Uchiha wasn't a threat that he could afford to simply ignore. And yet, he had always been accustomed to leaving the grind and struggle to the other Olympians in the past. This time, however, the threat was considerably graver. If his Kingdom was at risk, then he had the responsibility, as its monarch, to protect it. And if that meant standing side by side with the Olympians once again, for a brief period, and potentially having the chance to keep the sword he so coveted? That was better than no chance at all.
He felt the eyes of the whole room on him, as they awaited his decision. When he didn't answer right away, Kurenai pressed, "We must find Orochimaru's bases. Didn't he experiment on your subjects, too?"
It was the final push that caused Suigetsu to hop lithely over the benches, and flash-warp in front of Killer B.
He held out his hand, summoning a lethal blade from his sword collection in a flurry of water that quickly dispersed.
"Heh," he grinned toothily, meeting the eight-tailed host's gaze. "I guess you losers have got yourselves a deal."
~x~
Sakura was filled with wonder as she drifted into a huge hallway of onyx-marble pillars crowned with intricately carved capitals of gold, resting on equally as ornate plinth bases. They climbed up to a high, midnight, ribbed-vault ceiling painted with circular murals of gold and silver depicting the moon and stars. Diamonds seemed to be embedded into the concrete, glinting like celestial balls of light. The floor was luxurious black quartz, gleaming with natural flecks of silver, polished to such clarity that Sakura could see her reflection in the stone.
She drifted between the columns, entranced by the imposing elegance of her surroundings. The left and right sides of the room were flanked with arch-shaped openings which looked out toward the gardens of the palace. Tall, bronze-hued, five-armed candelabra stands that were stationed around the room glowed with pale-blue flame, filling the area with an ethereal glow. There was nothing else in the hallway except for rows of pillars, standing like proud sentinels around her.
"Wow," Sakura breathed, running her fingers across the smooth marble stone. "This is beautiful."
"It is called the Hall of Night, my lady," Chizu, who was walking behind her, informed her. "There is another similar to it, named the Hall of Day, but its columns are of the brightest ivory. This was said to be a favourite place of the last queen of the Underworld and her closest companions, may her soul rest in peace."
Sasuke's mother, Sakura thought to herself, as she approached the arched openings and rested her hand on the marble balustrade that formed a long balcony, allowing for the enjoyment of the night gardens.
Sakura sighed, watching the glowing orbs of light that danced in the air, flitting between the flower beds far below them. "This place really is magical. Magic like this doesn't exist on the surface. At least, not anymore."
Chizu stood just behind her, gazing thoughtfully out at the view.
"Did you know the old queen?" Sakura glanced at her attendant.
Chizu shook her head. "Regrettably not, Mistress. Ume and I were taken into service after the demise of the royal family, may their souls rest in peace. But I have heard accounts of her, and of the old King and previous crown prince. It is said that they were very noble indeed, and that the good Queen Nyx was exceptionally gentle and full of grace. She scattered constellations that still burn in our skies to this day."
A soft smile curved on Sakura's lips. She didn't doubt it, recalling the beauty of the regal goddess she had seen captured in the portrait in the shrine room so long ago. She'd never been able to forget that face and recalled that Sasuke resembled his mother strongly in looks.
"The other servants say she treated them most kindly. That she was a Queen to be admired and respected."
"Did your Master keep all the palace's old servants from before the war?"
"Only those loyal to him. I believe..." she glanced nervously about them, as if she wasn't certain whether she was allowed to speak of it, before continuing in a hushed voice, "That the servants loyal to the previous lord of the realm were released, if you understand what I mean."
Sakura nodded, her expression immediately turning grim at the mention of the Uchiha patriarch.
"Cronus is a monster," she informed her companion. "He may have helped to create this world, but it was never enough for him. I found out just recently that he murdered his own wife, the first queen of this realm, and their sons." She shook her head, appalled. "Did you know that?"
Chizu's eyes widened in alarm. She raised a hand to her chest, visibly disturbed. "By the gods! I had no idea. How dreadful, Mistress."
"He put his entire clan to the slaughter, trying to take the throne of Olympus."
"The gods can be most cruel, just as much as they can be kind." Chizu remarked.
Sakura silently agreed to that. She turned away from the gardens, her eyes roaming over the majestic columns that graced the spacious hallway. She imagined the last queen of the Underworld walking between them, followed by her attendants. Had the silent palace been full of laughter and lively chatter once? How empty were its resplendent rooms now, with only servants to tend to them.
How silent and lonely Sasuke's existence had been without his kin. Sakura couldn't imagine the horror, the loss, the profound grief he must have experienced, waking up in his world all alone on the day he had lost everything.
"I'd like to see the Hall of Day," she said, turning her attention back to Chizu.
The maid smiled, and gestured. "If it would please you to follow me, Mistress."
~x~
Just as Chizu had informed her, the Hall of Day was nearly identical to the Hall of Night, but instead of onyx, it was illuminated by warmly-lit golden candelabra stands that complemented the white-gold marble floor and pristine white columns. The ceiling was painted with blue skies, heavenly seraphs and radiant sun motifs. Sakura wondered whether all references to the surface had been created by instruction of the first queen Rhea, whom she supposed must have been an overworld goddess in origin judging from her ability to give life to flora. Had her powers transferred to Tsunade once she'd passed? Was that how Sakura's own abilities had come into existence? Had both she and her mother inherited fragments of Rhea's powers?
She mulled over the possibility as they passed through the magnificent hall, into another stunning passage with walls constructed of gold and mirror-panelled mosaics. It led to a huge gallery room enclosed in onyx walls and a towering ceiling of gold and black painted murals, decorated with an impressive collection of white marble statues. Sakura's lips parted in astonishment. It was like something straight out of a museum exhibit.
She drifted from one to the next in fascinated awe, inspecting them closely, listening intently as Chizu told her that they were carved in likeness to the old gods.
"Does your Master have one here?" she questioned.
"I am not certain, my lady," Chizu replied. "I do not tend to these quarters. But I am certain that all of the members of the old royal family must have had statues carved in their likeness and honour."
"I wish I could read these inscriptions," Sakura scowled at the ancient symbols engraved in gold plates at the bases of each statue, no doubt providing the names and identities of each. "Can you?"
"I do not know the old tongue, Mistress," her attendant said apologetically.
Sakura didn't recognise most of the figures - until her eyes suddenly caught onto an arresting, handsome statue. A tall one that wore a mask concealing half of his face. He had wavy, unruly locks, and his long cloak billowed out behind him. He held what looked to be a poppy stem in one hand, and a large horn that was not quite raised to his lips in the other.
This individual she could identify, from his mask and the images she had seen in Zeus's memory orbs. It was Hypnos - Shisui - Sasuke's older cousin. The original God of Sleep, the one who had left a fragment of memory that allowed Sasuke to be drawn to Sakura in her final life cycle.
She stared up at the statue in respectful silence. It was an accurate, detailed depiction, down to the earrings adorning his ears and the rings carved onto his fingers. She turned her head, seeking out the other masked individual she knew had often kept company with Shisui.
She spotted him right behind Hypnos, standing back to back with him, once more identifiable from the mask that concealed half his face from view and the long hair that cascaded from its high ponytail atop his head. The cloaked Thanatos was regal and imposing, and grasped a slender sword with a remarkably detailed hilt before him. There was what looked to be an inverted torch in his other hand.
These were stone depictions of the very same brilliant young gods who had outsmarted Cronus himself and woven the seals that had locked her goddesshood and all her memories of her past life away. The gods who had doomed her to a cycle of pain and anguish - but had also undoubtedly saved her life.
Sakura remained by their statues for a long time in silent contemplation. They had worked the seals and clearly left a way for them to be reversed. But how? How would the cycle on her be broken?
"Mistress?" Chizu's voice called gently. "Is everything well?"
Sakura's gaze lingered on Shisui's face for a few seconds longer, before she finally turned away, reassuring her attendant that she was fine before she moved to inspect the other statues.
~x~
After she'd finished exploring the gallery, Sakura, who had grown tired from all the lengthy walking they'd done, requested that they end the tour there and return to her room, taking up a plate of food and a goblet of water with her.
Upon stepping inside, she was stunned to find an unexpected visitor sitting in an armchair by the fireplace.
"The Underworld fashion quite becomes you, Little Flower."
Ume, who had been standing before Chiyo, curtsied and quickly took her leave with Chizu, closing the doors behind them. Sakura slowly approached the old goddess, setting her plate and goblet down on a small, ornate table before perching on the edge of the chaise longue adjacent to Chiyo's seat.
"Thank you," she politely said, smoothing out the layered skirt of the sleeveless silver dress she wore. She didn't know how a palace so large was heated so well, but she never felt cold indoors.
Chiyo, who was wrapped in a dark grey cloak, held up a wrinkled hand, containing a bundle of cloth fastened into a makeshift bag. Sakura rose to accept it, before returning to her seat. It was heavy. Curious, she untied it, only to look up at Chiyo in surprise.
The goddess gave her a small smile. "I thought that perhaps these would be of assistance to you."
Sakura ran her fingers over the arm brace and accompanying wooden box filled with a selection of chakra crystals. It was comforting to have something from the surface with her.
"You may visit my hut whenever you wish," Chiyo informed her. "To replenish your stock, if it pleases you."
"Thank you," Sakura said again earnestly. Wielding elemental chakra abilities would make taking on monsters in the battle dome so much easier than relying on swordplay alone. Closing the lid on the box and placing the bundle onto the chaise beside her, she turned her gaze to Chiyo. "I'm not sure how long I've been here for already. How's everyone doing? How is my mother?"
"All is well. There is nothing new of consequence to report," Chiyo croaked. "Your mother feels your absence, as is expected. Your friends have enlisted Suigetsu's aid to search for Orochimaru's base from beneath the seas."
Sakura's eyebrows lifted. "He's asked for something in return for his help, hasn't he?"
"Quite so," Chiyo nodded. "He delights in being quite the inconvenience."
"The only thing he wants is that sword he had to give back."
"That is one thing he desires," the crone mused. "But by no means all that he covets."
Sakura blinked at her cryptic choice of words. Before she could ask what else it was that Suigetsu had been promised, the goddess went on, "Eleven surface days have elapsed since your return."
Sakura's lips parted in astonishment. Almost two weeks had passed already? She was shocked. It hadn't felt like it, and yet she reminded herself that the flow and passage of time was completely different in the Underworld.
"You seem somewhat displaced," Chiyo remarked, her dark eyes glittering with mirth.
"I thought it'd only been four or five days," Sakura confessed honestly.
"It is true, time's pace seems to pass slower here. And how have you settled?" Chiyo eyed her. "You seem well adjusted, enough."
"I'm comfortable," Sakura watched the fire burning in the hearth in front of her, before looking down at her hands, clasped tightly together in her lap. That part was true. She was warm, well-fed and safe, and a lot happier than she had been the first time she'd been in the realm.
"Yet...?" Chiyo prompted, observing the evident sadness that lay beneath Sakura's calm demeanour.
A long silence ensued, in which Sakura found herself hesitating. Chiyo was her mother's good, trusted friend. They had been friends for a very long time, and yet, did Sakura really want to confide in the old goddess? Could she? It wasn't really any of her concern. But a part of her reasoned that Chiyo lived in the Underworld and had been watching over Sasuke for a long time. Surely she knew his nature well? Perhaps she could offer her opinion or shed some light on his confounding behaviour?
Sakura was desperate to talk to someone about her frustrations and uncertainties. Ume and Chizu were out of the question when it came to her relationship with Sasuke. She knew how private and reserved he was, and that he would likely not approve of her discussing details of their complicated bond with his servants. That didn't really leave her with many other options.
Didn't Chiyo know everything, anyway? Wasn't that her function? Deciding to bite the bullet, she divulged, "It's Sasuke."
"Hmm," Chiyo hummed, resting her hands on top of her staff. She didn't appear even remotely surprised. "I am listening, child."
Sakura turned the bracelets around her wrists, searching for the right place to begin.
"I know he rules this kingdom by himself, and has lots of duties and responsibilities," she started, feeling awkward and foolish even as the words rolled from her tongue. There had been periods the last time she'd been in the Underworld where she hadn't seen Sasuke much, too. This time, however, they seemed more frequent, and that was what troubled her. Or perhaps, it was how he didn't initiate any manner of proximity between them that bothered her most. He had briefly returned her hold on his hand when they'd sat together beneath the tree, but other than that, he had not reached out to her of his own will.
She needed a sign from him, too. A sign that offered her the reassurance she needed, that told her it was okay for her to be close. Up until then, he hadn't given her much to go on.
"But it feels like he's... I don't know." She shrugged. "Like sometimes he's avoiding me. I don't know if it's on purpose. I've already told him I've forgiven him for everything that's happened between us. I told him he can trust me, not to shut me out, but..." her voice trailed off.
"There still remains a boundary." Chiyo finished for her.
Sakura shook her head. "I feel like maybe I'm not doing something right. Maybe he just needs more space and time to get used to having me around again, but... I thought that maybe after..." She bit her tongue to stem the words she'd been about to blurt out so freely. That after they'd kissed, everything would just fall into place easily. It hadn't. She felt her cheeks burn. She was a fool to think that anything with Sasuke could ever be simple. It was her fault. She had been the one to initiate that kiss, leading to everything becoming even more complicated. But things didn't need to be. Why couldn't Sasuke understand that?
She would have been able to accept it if she knew for certain that he no longer desired any manner of relationship with her. If he'd made clear that he wished only to be a friend to her. But the way he had kissed her, left no mistake as to the true nature of his feelings. The way he'd looked at her afterwards, even the fleeting touch she'd felt in her dream and the way he had come to collect her from the surface - all those instances were anything but platonic in nature. She wouldn't delude herself into believing they could stay just friends. Not with the history they shared. Not with the way they had been fated to find each other again.
"I'm just being stupid," she muttered dejectedly. Suddenly she missed Ino fiercely, and wished that she was with her. Surely she would know what to do. "I don't even know what I'm doing. I should just stop."
"Now that would be foolish, indeed," Chiyo clucked her tongue in disapproval.
Sakura's eyes flew to the elder deity, startled that she was actually offering counsel.
"My my," the old goddess began with a light sigh. "Youth are ever so blind. Hear me, Little Flower. Sasuke has existed for millennia deprived of love, alone in this world. He closed his heart off to tender emotions, because he perceived them to be a weakness. Everything he once held cherished and dear, was taken from him in the most terrible of ways.
"The Uchiha were a most prestigious clan, and held within their hearts the capacity to love greatly. Faithfully. Perhaps more so than any other immortal race." She nodded to herself. "Their ties of brotherhood, of kinship, once formed, are sincere and eternal. They do not suffer loss with ease. For them, to lose family, is to lose oneself. He embraced anger and hatred, in order to change and grow. It was necessary, for him to rise from the ashes of his clan's ruin and to become the king this realm needs to maintain and protect it. For every lifetime you have lived, he has struggled. I have watched it."
"I know he's suffered," Sakura replied. "I saw it all, on Olympus. I saw what that monster did to him."
"And yet, that is merely a fragment of it, child," Chiyo's dark eyes met hers, holding them steadily. "He has only recently discovered the truth, the true extent of all that his family had to sacrifice to ensure that it was Sasuke alone who ascended the Underworld's throne. His memories were tampered with. In many ways, he was a pawn in a political game not of his choosing, but one he had no choice but to partake in. Because everything was ripped from him in the past. His freedom. His family. His friendships. Even the goddess he once cared for. Can you imagine it?" She tilted her head. "If he were to come across something new and wondrous? The very thing he had lost, so long ago? Someone that gives him a purpose beyond his role and function?" Her eyes crinkled into a smile. "It would be quite the unsettling conundrum indeed."
Sakura felt her heart constrict deeply within her chest. "It doesn't have to be," she said sadly. "I wish he'd believe that he doesn't have to be alone."
"You grew surrounded by love and warmth." Chiyo pointed out. "His hands have known only bloodshed, the severing of lives and reaping of souls. Now he is aware of your shared past, and the role he had in it. It was your love for him that exposed your nature to Cronus. And once again, he watched Cronus hurt you in this life, through your tie to him. It would be of no surprise, if young Sasuke does not believe himself capable of caring for anything, without harming or destroying it - intentionally or otherwise."
Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. She stared at Chiyo with wide eyes as the goddess's words permeated through her mind.
"He's..." she whispered. "Afraid...? Of hurting me?"
"Perhaps," Chiyo suggested, "he is most afraid of trapping you."
"What?" Sakura frowned. But she was already bound to his world. What did Chiyo mean?
"You are only physically tied to this realm, for now," the goddess clarified, reading the bewildered expression on Sakura's face.
Understanding slowly dawned upon her, like a flower unfurling its petals, opening to the world. Sakura recalled every situation where he had taken deliberate care not to touch her, where she had sensed him maintaining his barriers. He wasn't simply fighting his feelings, she realised suddenly. No. It wasn't that at all. He was trying not to further complicate and entangle hers. Even despite the kiss they had shared, he was making it clear he expected nothing more.
Did he genuinely believe he was sparing her any further pain or discomfort by stemming the possibility of anything more than friendship developing between them? Why then, when she had touched him, had he allowed it at all?
Because, Sakura realised, catching her breath once again, he was leaving the choices to her. She was the one in control, the one who made the choices.
He was allowing her the space to do precisely what her mother had told her to do.
There was a knowing glint in Chiyo's eyes and Sakura felt her heart quicken. But the old crone said nothing more on the matter, and rose from her seat.
"You have your maps," she said cheerfully. "Do stop by my hut. I do not receive many visitors."
"Wait," Sakura stored all thoughts of Sasuke for later. She had another question. "Sasuke told me about the first queen of the Underworld. Did you know her?"
"Yes," Chiyo nodded. "A kind-hearted, fiercely spirited goddess Rhea was. But one who made the grave error of gifting her heart to a monster."
Sakura hesitated, the very idea ludicrous to her, and yet a part of her was curious, and couldn't help but wonder. "Did he love her? Even a little?"
Chiyo snorted. "Cronus loves only himself. And yet, I suppose," she mused, gazing thoughtfully into the fireplace for a few seconds, "he did at the very least hold her in sincere affection - for a time. They would walk hand in hand through this world. Their powers, united, birthed beautiful creations. However, she was never enough for him. He was blind to what he had."
Sakura felt a stab of sympathy for the goddess she had never even met. "She was a fertility goddess, right? If she could make things grow, then did any of her powers pass onto my mother when she died?"
Chiyo smiled a small smile. "You are clever, Little Flower," she replied. "Your mother did indeed inherit some of Rhea's abilities - and so, in portion, have you. The Fates seem to delight in bringing things into full circle, do you not agree? Eheheheh!"
With those chuckling words, she winked, and blinked out of sight.
~x~
Sasuke steered his dark steed Orphnaeus along the river bank, his eyes monitoring the approach of Charon's boat through the mist of Acheron's river. He had just returned from patrolling through the Plains of Judgement, where Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aiakos - the immortal archangels of judgement stationed there - confirmed the passing of souls that had held an audience with the Underworld's ruler.
His next stop was the palace. Sasuke's eyebrows drew together slightly at the thought. His duties had kept him busy as of late, but he had also been keeping away to allow himself time to collect his own thoughts. Perhaps it was time to take Sakura on another tour around the Underworld, he thought to himself. It had been some time since he had been in her company last. And yet, the very thought filled him with uncertainty. An uncertainty that was frustrating, and so out of character for one so decidedly self-assured in everything that he did.
"I'm with you. We have these six months together. So please, Sasuke. Let me in. Don't shut me out."
He could not jostle the words she had spoken to him beneath the Tree of False Dreams from his mind. Since then, he had joined her for short periods within the palace grounds. He had shown her the grand ballroom on the second floor, with its majestic onyx and gold pillars, and taken her to turrets with magnificent views of the gardens far below. They'd walked through the hallways, through the large, indoor gardens contained within brilliant glass conservatories, where for all of Sakura's efforts to make pleasant conversation, awkward silences had still lingered heavily between them. They'd dined together on several occasions, and each time, he had subtly noted the tension in her shoulders, the way she sank her teeth into her lower lip in concern whenever the conversation lapsed. As if the entire experience was stressful for her.
He could not stand it.
She wanted him to let her in, and yet - how could he, truly? When every time he glimpsed the discomfort in her, he was reminded that he was the reason for it all - for her having to endure it - to begin with? Anytime she drew too close, he felt the urge to shrink back, even as he wanted to pull her close. To keep distance, even as he wished to close it. It had become almost a thoughtless reflex.
It wasn't fair, he knew, when he could see her trying so hard to be open with him, making every effort to converse and put him at ease. Why was he struggling to do the same? He was exhausted. Tired of it. A part of him wanted nothing more than to lower his guard completely, to give in, to let her close and hold her close without reservations.
To feel the mindless passion once again that her lips against his ignited. He craved nothing more than to lose himself to that terrifying sensation, in which all logic and thought were thrown to abandon.
And yet that yearning was stemmed by the other conflicting part of him that reminded him that Sakura was the one who would decide what she wanted, without any influence on his part. He did not wish to coax her into anything. They had kissed - but that gave him no right to take anything else. He would only reciprocate what she was willing to give. Since she'd held his hand, she had placed hers tentatively on his arm here and there, and he had permitted the touches. But he had done nothing to return them with any of his own, and eventually she had read his lack of reciprocation as an unwillingness on his part and retained the same distance, the spark of boldness she'd had beneath the tree that had compelled her to reach for him fizzling away.
It seemed to have made her even more unsure and hesitant. He hated it. He did not wish to make her uncomfortable. He did not wish for her to think he expected anything from her, even the trouble she put herself through to talk to him. He wanted her to ease into being back in his world, and to not feel so guarded in his company. He wanted the tension and nervousness he detected in her demeanour gone.
The river bank passed by him unseeingly as he fumed to himself, frustrated. What could he do to remedy her discomfort?
He was not one for starting conversation. Ought he to try harder? Did she want him to spend more time with her? How much was too much? She needed space too, didn't she? He didn't want to be overbearing. He didn't want her to feel pressured into spending all her free time with him. But was he spending too little with her? Perhaps she was thinking he was avoiding her on purpose? He wasn't, even when a part of him knew that there were specific situations that he actively was avoiding. Such as sparring, which required closer physical contact. Situations in which tensions could run high, and impulses could get the better of them. But what if she wasn't reading his intentions correctly?
"Sasuke...?"
A quiet voice drew him from the storm of his thoughts. He turned his head, to find that Karin stood in front of his horse. The death deity tugged on his stallion's reins, and Orphnaeus immediately halted, exhaling smoke.
She was not at her designated post, Sasuke observed. Was she departing? He stared cooly down at her, waiting for her to speak.
"I..." she started nervously. "I know I shouldn't be on this side, but I saw you patrolling, and there's something I needed to talk to you about..." her voice trailed off. She adjusted her spectacles, and shifted from one foot to the other. An open sign of restless agitation.
Sasuke stared at her expectantly. Orphnaeus tossed his mighty head. It was an action that mirrored the death deity's internal impatience. He had little of it for the nymph that stood before him.
"Well?" he intoned.
Karin swallowed. "I've served you for a long time, haven't I? You gave me a new home, a safe place, when I had nowhere to go. You gave me a new purpose. You permit Juugo and I the use of your name but I wonder..." her eyes lifted helplessly to his, an almost desperate light to them.
"Are we anything more to you than- than servants, Sasuke? Has there ever been a time that you might have seen us as anything more? Maybe friends, or..." she gulped the rest of the sentence down, losing her mettle. "I've served you loyally for centuries, not asking for anything in return, and I'll continue to do that, if only you would-" she hesitated, and continued in a near whisper, feeling pitiful, miserable, and wretched. "The only thing I ever wanted was for you to-"
He blinked.
"You may leave, Karin," he interrupted curtly, formally giving her his permission to exit out of his service. He had anticipated what it was she wished to say - and he would not hear it. It was a cold, callous harshness to her ears - and yet a kindness on Sasuke's part. He would not allow her to utter words that would humiliate her any further. She had never stood a chance, and he had never been remotely interested.
"If that is your wish, you are free of your contract," he finished. With that, he tugged on Orphnaeus's reins, and commanded him to continue onward, leaving a trembling, distraught Karin behind him.
~x~
Time continued to march on, and when it began to feel to Sakura like she had not seen Sasuke for the equivalent of several surface days following her talk with Chiyo, she resigned herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do about his behaviour. Lounging around unhappily would do her no good. If he wasn't going to accompany her outside the palace anymore, then she would simply keep herself occupied and go exploring on her own. She wouldn't force anything, she decided. She would relax, and give him time, and let him seek her out whenever he was ready.
"This is a map?" Ume clasped her hands together excitedly as she pored over the large scroll that Sakura had just unrolled for her. "Of the entire Kingdom? Truly?"
"All of it," Sakura nodded.
"How huge it is," Ume's eyes widened in fascination.
"You mean you've really never ventured outside the palace before?" Sakura angled a dubious look at her.
"Never," Ume confirmed. "The Master would not normally allow it."
"Have you ever asked him?"
"Oh, no, Mistress. It would be unthinkable!"
"Then how do you know he'd never allow it?" Sakura gave her a wry smile.
Ume looked confused. As if the thought had never even crossed her mind. "Because our place is within these walls, Mistress."
"Well, like I said, he's given his permission for you and Chizu to accompany me outside," Sakura assured her. "So, where should we explore first?"
"O-oh," Ume stammered bashfully. "Wherever it pleases you, Mistress!"
"Elysium," Sakura tapped a finger on the region on the map. "You'd love it."
Ume gasped. "But I do not know if I am permitted to see the paradise gardens," she glanced nervously at Sakura. "They are most sacred."
"You can accompany me anywhere," said Sakura. After all, Sasuke had not mentioned any stipulations on where they could and couldn't go.
"Well," Ume began with a shy smile, barely able to contain her delight. "I suppose... if it would please your ladyship also, then we could-"
A sudden knock on the doors interrupted her and both she and Sakura turned toward them as they parted, revealing Chizu who curtsied respectfully.
"Mistress," she met Sakura's gaze. "The Master has requested your presence. He awaits you by the stables."
~x~
Sasuke cast a stern look at Alastor as he entered the stables. The temperamental horse was throwing a tantrum over not being selected for riding once again amongst his brothers and snorted, stomping his hooves in protest. The death deity raised an eyebrow at him as the stable boy lifted the pen latch and allowed Aethon out.
"He really is a grumpy horse, isn't he?"
Sasuke blinked at the pleasantly feminine voice, and turned his head to find Sakura leaning against the stable doorway, watching him.
The breath stilled in his lungs at the sight of her. She was a vision, dressed in a mint green, soft flowing chiffon gown that complemented her stunning eyes and her blossom-hued hair. The silky locks were beautifully styled in a cascade braid, with gold leaves adorning the overlapping plaits. Similar gold clasps were affixed to the shoulders of the dress, attached to which were long, sheer cape sleeves that trailed to the floor behind her in length. The sweetheart neckline was decorated with matching gold leaf clusters, as was the thick, ornate belt that was tied around her slender midriff. She wore golden bracelets on her wrists and leaf earrings glinted in her earlobes.
He only became conscious of the fact that he was openly staring at her when he noted the charming dusting of pink that bloomed in the apples of Sakura's cheeks as she lifted a hand self-consciously to her hair. Inwardly berating himself, Sasuke tore his gaze away, accepting Aethon's reins from the stable boy with a brief nod.
Sakura felt heat creep into her cheeks. Sasuke, who looked wickedly dashing dressed entirely in black with decorative swirling gold embroidery at the collar, sleeves, and hem of his tunic and cloak, had been gazing at her with a peculiar, indecipherable expression on his face. Was the dress too much? Ume had helped her select it, fawning over its pastel colour, and Chizu had selected accessories to match, but perhaps it wasn't to Sasuke's liking? Maybe it wasn't suitable attire to ride Eos with? Or had it simply been too long since they'd last seen each other? It certainly felt like it to Sakura.
"Hn," he exhaled in response, a complete non-reply that she knew could be interpreted in so many different ways.
The stable boy had already released Eos, and she stepped aside as Sasuke passed her with a much more mild-mannered black horse who did not glare her way. She cast a bemused glance back inside the stable, where the stallion she knew was unmistakeably Alastor was throwing the mother of all strops.
Taking Eos's reins from the servant, she greeted her horse affectionately. "Does Alastor try to scare you?" she asked. "Don't be frightened. He's just a grump."
Sasuke, who had already mounted into his saddle, angled a glance down at Sakura, watching in silence as she stroked Eos's mane gently.
"Do you think Alastor would be calmer," she wondered, trying once again to dispel any awkwardness between them, "if I maybe tried to be friendly with him? I can't figure out if it's me he dislikes, or Eos."
Sasuke felt the corner of his lips twitch, but smothered the urge to smirk. "He is temperamental, even with his brothers."
"So you think he does hate us both?" Sakura frowned, as the curly-haired stable boy gave her a boost up into her saddle. She thanked him, and he bowed before returning inside to tend to the other horses.
"He does not trust easily," Sasuke informed her, steering Aethon smoothly around as he led the way toward the path leading out of the palace.
Just like you, Sakura thought at him, staring intently at the proud lines of his broad shoulders, only realising that she'd inadvertently done it telepathically, when Sasuke's head turned sharply toward her.
Her stomach lurched. She stared back at him, mortified. "You heard that?" She blushed furiously, embarrassed. She hadn't meant to think it to him.
"The seeds," he reminded her, before turning his attention back in front of him. "The link is more potent in the Underworld."
Sakura gulped. She needed to be more careful, then, and ensure she didn't accidentally project thoughts out to him like she just had.
"Well," she brushed the incident off hastily. "Then it must be me he has the problem with, because Eos has been here a while already." She paused, before adding, "Maybe he could carry me on our tours if he feels left out? Eos wouldn't mind every now and then, would you, girl?" She patted her horse's head.
The death deity scoffed at that. Alastor? Allowing another to mount him? Sasuke could already see the stallion's potential reactions in his mind's eye. All of them ended with Sakura either being thrown dramatically off his back, or the steed stubbornly refusing to move entirely. Perhaps one, followed by the other.
"He will not allow it," he said.
"You can order him," Sakura pointed out with a grin. "He can't disobey you. If he refuses to cooperate, just ground him. Tell him you won't take him out for a whole month. That ought to do it."
Sasuke's eyebrows drew together, and before he even realised it, his lips had curved into a small smile of amusement. He caught himself, confused that he'd found it funny at all, schooling his features back to neutral. The statement was utterly ridiculous. He wouldn't punish Alastor in such a way. The proud mount was his favourite. Luckily, Sakura was behind him, and didn't see the uncharacteristic slip in his demeanour.
"Chiyo came to see me in my room," she told him. "She brought me some chakra crystals and my arm brace. She just wanted to know how I was settling in."
Sasuke turned his head slightly as they rounded the palace's perimeter.
She read his unspoken question. "I'm not sure when it was. Sometime while you were out of the palace, after I'd finished exploring the Halls of Day and Night and the statue gallery. I never know if it's hours, or days that have passed. Isn't there a way to keep track?"
"Time does not pass in hours or days beneath the surface," Sasuke answered.
"But then, how do you keep track of appointments?" Sakura asked, perplexed. "Like when you have to judge a soul. How do you know when to receive them?"
"That's part of my function."
"But how do your servants know when they need to do their chores? They have to keep track, somehow?"
Sasuke considered the question. "Hourglasses, or candle clocks," he stated. "Time can be estimated by surface equivalent hours in that way. But the measure of time is not by the rising and setting of the sun. There are no days, here."
Sakura nodded in understanding. So the six months she owed were measured in surface time.
"Can you teach me how they work sometime?" she asked, gently nudging Eos to pull up beside the death deity as they made their way down the tree-lined path that led to the entrance gates. "The candle clocks, I mean?"
Sasuke met her gaze briefly and she felt hope flutter within her chest when he wordlessly offered her a nod.
~x~
They rode over a long distance at great speed. It was an exhilarating, adrenaline-fuelled journey that invigorated Sakura's senses. When their horses finally arrived at their destination, it was at the entrance to a large cavern from which radiated ethereal, turquoise light.
"What is this place?" Sakura asked curiously, as she accepted Sasuke's outstretched hand and carefully dismounted Eos, leaving her horse grazing beside Aethon.
"A part of the outermost borders of the Elysian Fields," Sasuke informed her, leading the way inside.
As soon as they stepped in, Sakura discovered the source of illumination and gasped in amazement. The walls of the cavern were filled with large, glowing crystals of quartz. They illuminated a cobblestone path that wound ahead, leading to another opening partly concealed by hanging, flowering vines, through which Sakura could glimpse tiny flecks of light floating. As they exited through it, she gasped again.
A large grove of tall, slender trees, verdant and abundant, grew in close clusters in a bed of grass littered with stunning lilac and white blooms that bore a strong resemblance to perilous surface Datura flowers in their shape. She turned her face up, to see the sky graced with the illusion of stars and that there were exotic, unfamiliar species of birds perched high in the boughs above her head, their wings a dazzling array of colours.
Tiny firefly-like insects, illuminated with gold and turquoise light drifted playfully through the trees. Deity and mortal ventured onward, until the cluster of trees gradually began to disperse, leading out into a beautiful, spacious garden surrounded by further groves of trees.
Sakura's eyes widened in delight. At its centre was a large, stunning tree that looked like a surface wisteria, its hanging blooms creating a charming, vivid purple curtain, around which grew a fantastic array of flowers. She spotted pink flowering shrubs that resembled azalea, peach-hued camellia, burgundy ninebark foliage, pretty deutzia and lilac, bell-shaped abelia. White narcissus flowers, white and purple-splashed lillies, red angel trumpets as well as other luminous species of blue, purple and white flowers native to the Underworld filled the area.
Birds flittered between the trees, and ethereally glowing butterflies shedding tiny specks of golden dust danced amongst the blades of grass. A large, intricately carved wooden arbour, its frame decorated with a curtain of pink and white jasmine flowers, contained a plush bench that was scattered with richly embroidered bronze and gold cushions.
The sweetest, most delicious of aromas wafted through the air. Sakura drifted away from Sasuke, further into the enchanting garden, passing through yet more clusters of trees, and found that they bore fruits. She recognised grapes, plums, peaches, apples, figs and damson.
"Can I try these?" she called, glancing back at Sasuke as she pointed up at the ripe, purple-hued figs above her.
The death deity walked over to her and then stepped around her, able to reach the lowest of the branches. Wordlessly he pulled it down, allowing her to pick two of the nearest fruits. Smiling, Sakura then turned away and made her way back to the central wisteria tree, settling in the grass under its flowering, sweet-scented, hanging canopy.
She watched the passing fireflies and butterflies in awe. To think that this was all Rhea's creation. It made Sakura wonder what she, herself, had once been capable of, as the Goddess of Spring, before her untimely first demise and the sealing of her abilities.
Sasuke stepped through the flowery curtain and lowered himself to sit beside her, maintaining a respectful distance.
Sakura offered one of the figs to him, as she took a bite. It tasted as mouth-watering as it looked.
"Would you like one?"
He eyed the large fig in her palm for a moment, before quietly accepting it. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, gazing pensively out at their serene, magical surroundings.
"That moon," Sakura finally broke the hush, gesturing up at the white sphere that shone in the cloudless, phantom-night sky. "Is that the same one that lights Elysium?"
"Yes," said Sasuke.
"So then it's further down from here?"
"First you must cross Lethe's river," he replied. "Then the Elysian Fields. After comes Elysium."
She nodded. "I still can't believe that all these things can grow here without light. Rhea must've been a really powerful goddess."
"She was a Titan," Sasuke replied. "A direct descendant of Gaia's line."
Sakura munched thoughtfully on her fruit. It was sticky, sweet and divine in taste. "You know," she said, after swallowing her mouthful, as Sasuke finished the last of his. "Chiyo told me that my mother and I inherited some of her powers. Since my mother looks after the harvest, and my powers trigger spring."
Sasuke was not surprised to hear this. He angled a brief glance Sakura's way. They were not relatives, he knew, and yet there was no doubting that they possessed similar gifts. He supposed that death had always been drawn to life, as life was to death. They were each other's antithesis, after all.
"I wonder what I could create, if I got my powers back," Sakura mused.
Sasuke turned his eyes back to the flowers around him. "Life," he said simply.
She ate the last bite of fig, and looked down at her hands. To think that they would be capable of creation, if her seal was ever undone. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she rearranged the layers of her skirt and looked up at the curtains of pretty flowers hanging over their heads.
"What's this garden called?"
Sasuke absently watched a floating sphere of turquoise pass in front of him.
"The Groves." He paused, remembering that Sakura had once mentioned something about desiring a garden during her last visit. "If I had a little garden that was even remotely like this, I'd be very happy." He recalled her words with perfect clarity.
"It's beautiful," she admired. "It's so peaceful here. Like a sanctuary."
"..." Sasuke hesitated, casting a surreptitious glance at her from the corner of his eye once again. This was an area that was completely secluded. It served no function, other than as a private, decorative garden.
"It's yours," the words tumbled from his tongue, before he had a chance to second-guess them.
A long pause ensued, in which Sakura blinked, and turned her head to the right, staring at him in open-mouthed astonishment. Were her ears deceiving her? Had Sasuke just actually said...?
"Huh?" she blurted out. "You want to give this to me?"
Sasuke turned his face away from her, fixing his gaze on the narcissus blooms growing in the grass around them. Feeling somewhat awkward in the wake of her gawking, he responded stiffly, "If you wish it."
"I..." She found herself stricken speechless and gaped at him. He was gifting her her very own garden? She was both touched and stunned. "I couldn't possibly accept this, Sasuke-" she began to protest.
"Hn," he dismissed. "I said it's yours. Nobody will disturb you here."
She looked back out at the garden, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Thank you," she finally managed, feeling the sudden, overwhelming desire to reach out to him. To touch him again. She felt a tremor seize her heart, the same whisper of uncertainty that again warned her that perhaps she simply needed to wait, and allow him more time. A thousand worries assaulted her once more. Was she being too open? Not forward enough? Why was he making her feel doubts all over again, when she had been so sure back when he'd held her in his arms, during those brief, blissful moments they'd spent together in his room following their escape from Cronus? Couldn't he see it was driving her insane? The not knowing? The dancing on eggshells? The time they were wasting, not knowing how to act or be around each other?
The words Chiyo had spoken to her drifted through her mind.
"It would be of no surprise, if young Sasuke does not believe himself capable of caring for anything, without harming or destroying it - intentionally or otherwise."
The silence stretched on, in which Sakura grew increasingly anxious. She stole glances at him, holding her breath, hoping to catch his eye. Her stomach fluttered when he finally turned those fathomless, heavy-lashed onyx orbs onto her. Their gazes locked, and it seemed to Sakura that time itself once again suspended. Her surroundings faded away, blurring out of focus, and he was all she could see. She reached out slowly toward him, as if in a trance. His eyes flicked down to her hand, and something passed transiently across his face - a look that was far too fleeting for her to identify.
Despair flooded through her when he abruptly turned his face away and rose fluidly to his feet. Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she'd reached out with her hand to grab hold of his left one. She felt his fingers tense, before those dark eyes turned to look down at her questioningly.
"Wait," she pleaded. "Sasuke." She stood in turn, still holding onto his hand. His eyes lowered, regarding her fingers closed around his palm. He did not pull away, nor did he speak.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"Nothing." He turned his face away.
"No. I know something is." Frustration crested within her chest and poured like a cascade off the tip of her tongue before she could catch the current of words that were leaving her lips. "Is it me? Am I doing something wrong?"
He was silent.
"Does feeling like you have to spend time with me like this make you uncomfortable?" She was horrified to feel tears stinging at her eyes at the mere suggestion.
He turned to look at her then, his eyebrows furrowing together, as if her words were offensive. "Sakura-" he began.
"Tell me what it is," she entreated. "Because I thought we cleared the air already. I thought we were fine. So if it's me, then-"
"It isn't," he interrupted, carefully prying her fingers from his hand.
"Then what is it?" she asked, staring helplessly after him as he turned his back to her. Once more, he was shutting her out. It hurt to realise that the words she had spoken to him beneath the tree hadn't really held any weight at all. "Why do I feel like..." she shook her head, at a loss to explain his behaviour. "Like you're still trying to keep me at a distance?"
When he didn't reply, her hands balled into fists. It wasn't fair, she told herself. That he was acting this way, when she was in his realm, when she had made peace with their past and was giving up six months of her surface life to keep company with him. When she, the one who had all the right to complain, was trying to make it as easy as possible. The least he could do was make it not feel like such a struggle. To not make it feel like she was such a burden. Whether that was the impression he meant to give to her or not, that was how she was feeling. That he felt obligated to show her around, rather than doing it for the sake of it. That he felt obligated to spend time with her, rather than wishing to do so of his own volition.
She was trying so hard. Why was he not returning the effort? How could she understand what the root of the issue was, if he didn't tell her? She didn't want to hear it from Chiyo. She didn't want to form her own conclusions and assumptions. She needed to hear it from him.
She told herself that she had gotten through to him once before. She could do it again. She wasn't going to let him off the hook, or allow his silences to answer for him. She wasn't going to go back to the palace, only for him to vanish for whoever knew how long again.
Making up her mind, she marched forward, stepped around him and turned to face him.
"Please, Sasuke." She looked up at him, frowning unhappily. "I asked you not to push me away. I'm trying to be as open as I can with you, but I don't know what to think when you pull away like this. I don't know how you're expecting me to-"
"Nothing," he interjected, his dark eyes lifting from the grass, something almost dangerous flashing across them. "I expect nothing, Sakura."
She stared at him wordlessly for a moment, before continuing, "That's not what I meant." She told herself to maintain calm, to retain patience. The last thing she wanted was for them to have an argument, or to make him feel like she was judging him. "I can't understand or help if you won't tell me what's wrong."
He stared at her for a long, tense moment. As if he was weighing a decision in his mind. Finally, he said, "What do you want, Sakura?"
The question was so sudden, so abrupt, so out of the blue, that Sakura found herself faltering in the face of it.
"I-" she shook her head slightly, caught off guard. What did she want? She knew what it was, and yet, faced with the opportunity to tell Sasuke at last, to say it out loud, she found the words lodged themselves in her throat. Her tongue seemed to betray her, incapable of supplying anything. Or perhaps, she was simply a coward.
"Well?" he demanded. There was now a fire burning in his eyes, and she felt the heat travelling through her body, setting her pulse racing.
"I don't want us to be like this!" she gestured from herself to him, almost as if she intended to indicate the distance, the chasm she felt still remained between them. "I feel like you're pulling away on purpose and it's making me second-guess everything. Are you still feeling guilty? Is that it?"
He averted his gaze. Still? He hadn't exactly stopped. Shaking his head, he turned, seeking space to gather his thoughts, to consider his response, but she followed him, pushing at his chest to halt him in place before he could exit through the curtain of wisteria flowers.
"Haven't we moved on from that? I said I forgave you. Everything was fine. Why is it so hard for you to just accept that I'm okay with being here? What's it going to take to convince you?" She gripped onto the fabric of his tunic. "I feel like you're the one who isn't fine with me being here."
He glared at her. "You're right," he snapped, before he could think better of it, only realising after the words had left his lips how they must have sounded to her.
"Wha-?" she floundered, physically recoiling like he had pelted hard stones at her. She snatched her hands back, as if scalded by the slicing remark. "Why are you making this so difficult, when it should be so simple?" she whispered, her lower lip trembling. "Why are you making this miserable for us both? Are you really going to let me believe that you've been avoiding me on purpose?"
He looked away, as if he could not stand to meet her gaze. She watched the muscles in his jaw clench and tighten.
A long, smothering silence ensued. When it became apparent that he wasn't about to say anything else, Sakura's shoulders dropped in disappointment. She was a fool, she told herself, furious and upset at her own stupidity. A fool to think one kiss would change everything between them. Sasuke was still stubborn, still infuriatingly impossible. And she was too tired to keep playing this exhausting game, where one wrong move resulted in a minefield of explosions that set them back ten steps for every one step they took forward in progress.
She dropped her eyes from his. Plastering a tight, rueful smile onto her lips, she said softly, "I get it. It was my mistake to even think..." her voice wavered, and she gulped the remainder of the words back.
She wouldn't cry, she told herself fiercely. She wouldn't. At least, not in front of him.
"If being around me is this stressful for you, then I apologise." His head jerked sharply back toward her at that, his mouth opening as if to interrupt her - only for his lips to press together in an unyielding line when she continued, "Please, don't trouble yourself with showing me around. I have the maps, I can keep myself busy. That's why you gave them to me, isn't it?"
He stared at her, his lips sealed firmly shut.
Eyes burning, she stepped back and turned away from him - only to feel warm fingers close around her forearm, halting her in place.
"Sakura-" His tone was strained. As if finding the right words to explain himself was a struggle in itself.
She waited. When nothing followed, she swallowed back the thick lump in her throat. She couldn't do this, she told herself. Not now. They were both too upset. They needed to calm down, and then, perhaps, they could sit and try again.
"I'd like to go back to the palace, now." She refused to turn her eyes back to him, and without looking, gently disengaged her arm out of his grasp.
"Wait." Immediately his fingers clamped around her wrist, whirling her back around.
"Sasuke!" She gasped, looking up at him incredulously. What was he doing? He didn't want her close? But he didn't want her to go? What did he want? She couldn't keep up, she couldn't keep shooting in the dark, and quite frankly, was becoming fed up, her mind a haze of confusion.
His gaze was fixed resentfully, sullenly, on an unfortunate spot on the grass. There was a heavy, lengthy pause, in which Sakura once again tried to pull her arm away - but his grip held firm.
"You-" He seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second, before he finally managed to get out, "deserve better."
Sakura blinked. In her distress, she experienced a delay between hearing the words and comprehending them. Then they slammed into her, and she inhaled sharply, before allowing her arm to grow limp in his hold, staring up at him with wide eyes. Was this the answer? That Sasuke thought himself unworthy of her? Or that just because she had to spend half of the year with him, it didn't mean that he expected them to be together in any way? Was that what he had really meant about having no expectations?
Suddenly, it all made dreadful sense. All his hesitation. The distance. She understood the root of the problem perfectly, and didn't know who she was more upset with - him, for thinking the way that he did, or herself, for failing to understand the reasons behind his behaviour sooner.
"Who told you that?" she demanded. "Was it my mother? Or are you saying it out of guilt?"
He released her arm, still refusing to meet her gaze. She swiftly rounded on him, reaching out to grip him by the upper arms.
"Sasuke, look at me," she said. "Please."
Dark eyes shifted reluctantly to hers. There were shadows in his features that she wanted to chase away. She wanted the look of wonder in his eyes that she'd seen when they'd last kissed. The haunting vulnerability, the openness - she wanted to reach that Sasuke again.
"I know things didn't end well for us in my first life. But that wasn't your fault! If you're pushing me away because you're afraid that history will repeat itself, then stop! I'm not the same person I was back then! And neither are you!"
His eyes once again slid away from hers, a scowl set firmly on his face.
"Look at me," she urged him again, compelling his gaze to flick back onto her features. He read the agitation in them, hating himself for how unhappy he was already making her. Hating himself for being incapable of making her understand how it felt for him, to look at her, knowing that any involvement he'd had in both lives he'd known her in, had resulted in catastrophic suffering for her. Had resulted in her sacrificing more than he'd ever had a right to demand of her.
"I decide who deserves me," she said, eyes shimmering with tears. "Not you, or my mother. Nobody else makes that decision for me. And if I decide that person is you then-" she stumbled over her words, realising only in the flow of her outburst, what she was so openly confessing to him. "Then it's you, Sasuke!"
She had the satisfaction of seeing that she had succeeded in startling the stoic death deity. A look of surprise passed over his eyes, as if he could not believe what he was hearing. But there was also an unmistakeable warning glint in those anthracite depths. Instead of being afraid, Sakura felt them reeling her in, like twin flames to a moth powerless to resist.
"So foolish," he spoke in a low voice. "Sakura."
She lifted her chin defiantly. "No. I'm not. I know what I'm saying. I'm not the same sheltered girl you first met, Sasuke," she rejected. "I know my own mind." Heart thumping almost painfully against her ribcage, she fought through her fear and added bravely, "I know my own feelings!"
For a second time within a matter of seconds, she caught him off-guard once more. Sakura could see the hardness in his eyes wavering, replaced by incredulous bewilderment. She felt her stomach twist and flutter. Was she getting through to him? Did she dare to hope that at last, everything would be resolved between them?
Her words hung deafeningly in the air between them. Shifting the atmosphere. Like catalysts that began an unstoppable chain of events. Setting the prime conditions to a volatile chemical reaction.
He shook his head, his gaze boring intently into hers. "You do not understand."
"I do. I said I know what I-!"
"Begin this," he interrupted harshly. "And there is no turning back."
She was instantly silenced, stunned by the unexpected direction the exchange had taken. Her lips parted. The breath caught in her throat. The look in Sasuke's eyes was so intense, conveying an unspoken message so distinct, so clear, she felt her heart was ready to leap out her mouth. A thousand agitated butterflies broke free from their cages within her belly.
If they began, there was no stopping.
If they began, he played for keeps.
He stepped closer to her, a mesmerising mix of anger, determination and something else - an intensity that caused her entire body to start trembling - swirling in his charcoal gaze. Sakura felt the same electrifying sparks sizzling between them. The same irresistible pull. And she knew he could feel it too. It was insanity. Intoxicating.
It was utterly terrifying, the desire she had, to give into the madness.
"I don't care," she stubbornly whispered. If he was trying to deter her, to make her change her mind, then it wasn't working. Her mind had already been made up. She knew what he was. She knew who he was. She had never felt so scared, standing on the edge of a precipice, ready to fling herself into a chasm of shadows, and yet, she knew without a doubt, that his arms would catch her. Each and every time, he would save her. Without thought. Without hesitation. Without fear. Why would she fear the dark, when he was the master of it?
"Can you accept it?" He held her gaze as he lifted his right hand, gesturing briefly into the air with long, elegant fingers. She saw dark ripples form a split-second before she felt liquid coolness brushing against her throat, as tendrils of shadow caressed over her skin. Biting. Freezing. She could barely suppress the shudder that bolted down her spine at the sinfully sensual sensation. "What I am?" he demanded.
The shades coiling around her increased, gliding over her bare arms like delicate ripples of silk. She swallowed, rooted to the spot, uncertain whether she was incapable of moving, or whether she simply didn't want to.
"Death," he hissed, eyes blazing into hers, midnight irises swirling to captivating crimson. "Shadows. Darkness. This Kingdom. Is this," the icy tendrils licked along her jawline, sending devastating tingles exploding through her skin from the tantalising, barely there contact. "What you choose, Sakura?"
The breath escaped her lips in rapid bursts, condensing before her very eyes. Her chest heaved, her teeth chattered, the cold chill around her almost paralysing. She could feel her fingers turning numb as the shadows continued to swirl around her at his command. He was enveloping her in his aura, she realised. She could feel its dreadful, deadly, stifling intensity seeping into her very bones. He was trying to frighten her. Giving her one final chance to step away. To escape. Giving her one final opportunity to reconsider what she was offering to him.
But instead of leaping away from the flames, Sakura threw herself willingly into them. Not breaking her eyes from his, she exhaled, "Yes."
He blinked, something visibly shifting in his eyes. The last of the unyielding, unforgiving wall within those onyx depths crumbled away, replaced by a smouldering, enticing void of darkness that swallowed Sakura whole. She was falling. She couldn't stop herself from drowning in them. Suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe. Immediately, the shadows dispersed around her, melting away from her body, and she felt his left hand slip behind her head, to grip the nape of her neck.
Sakura felt that her heart was on the verge of stopping entirely when he jerked her close, so that the front of her body brushed against his. As he slowly lowered his face to hers, she was pinned in place by the severity and weight of that piercing, magnetic gaze. Her pulse was hurtling so fast, her entire body quaked from the force of her heartbeat.
"You," he exhaled against her lips, the warmth of his breath causing the sensitive flesh to tingle. "Are a fool, Sakura."
Her lips parted, but any words she might have summoned were silenced to oblivion when his lips crashed ravenously, angrily against hers. Claiming, branding, all-consuming. Immediately Sakura's blood was gasoline, strewn alight from the ignition of his touch, and she closed her eyes, giving herself up to the intoxicating thrill, the alluring darkness and seduction of his touch.
When his tongue probed hers, she granted him entry without thought, stunned by the muffled, foreign moan that escaped her throat as his tongue stroked and swirled erotically over her own. Her body was acting on instinct, pushing itself desperately up against his as she laced her arms around his neck tightly, giddy with triumph, breathless from the bruising intensity and fiery passion of his kiss. His fingers were suddenly in her hair, angling her head back further, as he briefly broke the kiss to allow her oxygen, before capturing her lips hungrily once more.
Sakura kissed him back with equal fervour, with equal desperation, feeling as though she was unravelling impossibly fast when a steely arm locked around her waist, crushing her close against him.
She kissed him like there would be no dawn on the surface, like this was their final moment of existence. The world had aligned all around her, every piece falling perfectly in place, just as it had the last time they had kissed, even as she felt herself spinning riotously out of control. It was a dangerous, displacing sensation. The chemistry between them was unlike anything she ever could have imagined. Sakura clung to him, feeling a tremor of fear course through her veins, mingling with the sunshine of euphoria that he was letting her in at last.
At that moment, she finally understood the true meaning behind Sasuke's words. That if they began this, there would be no turning back for either of them, because the passion would enslave and consume them both. It would set them alight, until there was nothing left to burn.
When he finally broke the kiss, they stared at each other, wide-eyed, breathing heavily, desire mirrored in their gazes along with the elation of requited feelings. She felt that her face was ablaze with heat, and she was certain her heart had never pounded so hard or fast. She couldn't keep the shy smile that tugged at her lips from manifesting, and releasing a relieved little laugh, burying her face against his chest, overcome with a fuzzy warmth. She heard the beat of his heart, pounding just as hard and fast as her own, leaving her feeling dizzy and disorientated all over again.
"I accept it," she whispered, and closed her eyes when he lifted a hand to cradle the back of her head.
~x~
They returned after to the palace, where Sakura shyly slipped her hand into Sasuke's as he escorted her back to her room. He allowed her touch, the tension melted away between them. At the doors, she bid him goodnight, her lips darting yearningly to his once more briefly, but overwhelmed by what they had just shared, and feeling like she was lost in a dream, she found herself losing courage at the final moment and all but dove for cover inside her bedchamber.
When the doors were closed, she leaned back against them, lifting her fingers to her lips as a wide smile broke across her face. She felt like she was glowing. She felt like she was floating. She had never felt so alive.
Unknown to her, on the other side of the doors, Sasuke lingered, bewildered by the foreign lightness within his chest that he could not recall ever feeling. It was as though a crushing weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and for the first time, he could breathe easily.
Against all sense and reason, Sakura had made her choice. She had chosen him. She accepted him. And, he told himself, as he finally turned away from her bedchamber and continued down the hallway, his mind reeling - that that was all that mattered.
~x~
Author note
Did we enjoy it? Did we combust? Reviews are appreciated! See you next update!