Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
This story is unrelated to the other story "The Priestess," even if it shares some background similarities. Neji does not do anything bad to Hinata in this story.
This is a Sasuhina story.
Warning: UnBeta- and roughly drafted. If you know Greek mythology, you know the gods were basically rapists (sad face). There is no rape in this story, but the gods with the exception of Sasuke speak as if rape was accepted and common.
Thank you~ Leave a review please! And I might continue this story!
The lilting sounds of the wild birds chirping in the nearby mountains behind the temple woke Hinata. But she rather preferred the breezy sound of the wind billowing against her curtains.
She opened her bleary pale eyes and saw her humble bed chamber slowly illuminating in the dawn.
She sat up and hugged her pillow to her chest and stayed in a momentary daze. After rubbing her face against her pillow as if it was a cuddly animal, she finally mustered the resolve to start yet another day as priestess of Sakura, the goddess of spring.
She placed her feet flat on the ceramic floor and heard the distant repetitive cries of a rooster.
'Hmm, three times,' she counted the rooster cries, 'just in time for morning supper.'
She went to the communal bathhouse for the priestesses of Sakura and after finishing her bathing and dressing in a white robe and veil, she went to the communal dining place for the priestesses.
The breakfast menu was steamed rice with root vegetables, dried algae, tossed and marinated wild chives, and quail eggs, fried sunny set up.
Hinata clapped her hands together and prayed her thanks to goddess Sakura. Out of wild vegetables, chives was her favorite. And quail eggs were yummy sources of protein. Today was going to be a good day.
She joined a few priestesses for breakfast, and she replied with polite "hmms" and nods as they continued talking about their errands and duties for the day.
A major part of their morning chatter was about their head priestess and priests who were difficult on occasions. Lifting her spoon to her mouth, Hinata sometimes laughed at the impersonations of their superiors.
Hinata was grateful for the few number of friends she befriended in the temple.
The truth was-Hinata was a princess. Not just any princess, but the first princess-the direct descendant of the deceased king Hiashi.
When her father died, leaving just her and her sister, the warlord Menelaum raised a coup and sought to seize the throne.
The only way of survival for Hinata was to seek her cousin Neji, the representative of the Branch faction of the royalty, and ask him to be king.
The chaotic circumstances did not allow the reign of a female ruler, no matter how qualified she could be. And Hinata knew she was not qualified. And her sister was too young.
Neji, although reluctant at first, finally agreed. He quelled the rebellion and beheaded the leaders.
He was coronated by the oracle of Delphi, the regent of Apollo, but it was she who slipped her father's ring onto his finger.
Her tiny dainty fingers held his large right hand marred with healed battle scars after she slipped the ring.
Her long lashed eyes gazed down on his hand, as she said with a sweet, sad smile, " I guess this is my time to disappear."
He urged, "I could clear your name. You could stay a princess as before. Let me."
She shook her head slowly, resigned to her fate with a peaceful smile, "It is custom for female political exiles to be priestesses. I will only brew trouble."
She tried to speak with her characteristically soothing high spirits, "I think I would be happy to remain celibate my entire life. I can't imagine getting married."
She did not notice the flicker of hurt in his eyes that he quickly schooled to a look of impassivity when she raised her smiling eyes, "You would let me, would you?"
And that was how she became the priestess of Sakura. The king did not attend the ceremony when the high priest poured oil over her head, marking her ingress into holiness.
A priestess looked at the fountain clock in the middle of the dining court, "Sister Hinata- you have about thirty minutes before the start of your round."
Hinata nodded and took her tray of food and handed it to the priestesses in charge of cleaning. She rushed to the main temple of goddess Sakura to take care of her most important duty-tending to the Vestal Fire.
The Vestal fire in the marble altar burned in the middle of the grand temple that rivaled the Parthenon of Athens.
The priestesses all took rounds with the chief responsibility of tending to the fire so the divine flames would not burn out and incur the righteous wrath of the goddess.
If the priestess neglects tending to the fire and the flames extinguish, the priestess is to be buried alive in the temple's underground chamber which is like a hole dug out deep into the ground, with only a piece of bread, a hard bed, and a short-lived torch with only a meager portion of burning oil.
There, the priestess will wait for a painful, hungry, and dark death with no sun or moon.
So Hinata was diligent enough to always head to the Vestal fire altar at least fifteen minutes before her round.
However, it was not really the fear of a harrowing death that propelled her, but rather her impervious sense of duty to the goddess.
The air was already hot, and the sunlight pouring onto the leafy green canopy showered her in summer heat.
She accepted the quiet bows of priestesses with a bow of her own, as she entered the majestic abode of the goddess.
First, she prostrated low before the tall marble statue of goddess Sakura and then approached the altar. As it should be, the fire was burning brightly.
Next to the altar was a golden frame stacked with cedar wood and fragrant birches.
Hinata took a thin sliver of a sweet smelling birch and tossed it into the burning flames, watching the tongues of fire burst and cackle.
She hummed as she fed the fire skillfully, poking occasionally at the flames with a rod.
She did not notice a few priestesses glancing at her from a distance and whispering among themselves.
"Isn't something strange with sister Hinata?"
"What do you mean, sister?"
"I mean, nothing is unusual with her, but...for some reason, the worshipers and priests of goddess Sakura are avoiding her."
"Oh, I have been noticing that! Which is strange, because she used to be so, so popular. Especially with the common men."
"But do you know what is even stranger?"
"What?"
"The worshipers and priests who avoid her like plague are all men!"
"Oh! Now that I think of it..."
"They would try to approach her like usual- I mean, sister Hinata is a comely little thing-but then they detract as if she had some terrible odor."
"Poor thing! I noticed how terribly embarrassed sister Hinata looked. Men could be so childish and rude, and she has an overly soft heart."
Standing in front of the divine fire all daylight in the summer heat was an arduous task for the nineteen year old priestess, so when Hinata was done, she silently thanked the gods and rushed to the communal bathing house made of marble and limestone.
Hinata took a towel and her basket of toiletries and entered the mosque shaped bathing house where other virgins of various ages were bathing in the circular pond of heated spring water in the center.
Some priestesses who took in bribes would hire slaves to scrub themselves with goat milk lather, rose water, and sugar to make their skin soft like porcelain.
However, averse to receiving bribes of any sort, Hinata rushed to the circular pool and poured the welcoming lavish hot water from the marble basin on her body. The silky sensation of the piping hot spring water made her soft skin flush enticingly, and her cheeks retained their color that she lost due to her day's labor. Her torso saturated with the water shone under the shimmering moonlight through the circular hole in the center of the mosque shaped ceiling, as her naked body was enough to win the envy of goddesses. Her hair so dark that it caught a blue sheen under the moon was saturated wet with the heated water, and her eyes shone under the moonlight and her cheeks were dimpled. Opals and roses.
Water spilled down to her womanly parts nestled between her milky thighs. A bead of moisture hung tantalizingly at her toes, as she doused herself with more water.
It was indeed strange how the men would avoid this beautiful girl like she was Medusa incarnate.
Thus, she scrubbed herself even more rigorously until she was pink all over.
When she was done with her nightly bathing, she towel dried her hair. At the offer of one of her friends, she would let her towel dry her hair, and she would giggle and return the offer.
When her holy sister commented in concern how red her scrubbed skin was, Hinata blushed and lowered her eyes in shame, "I had worshipers and the priests avoid me, so I wondered if it was because I smelt of perspiration. Working in front of the sacred flames would do just the trick." She put on a smile, but her cheeks still blushed in shame.
"Oh, silly-" the good natured priestess laughed, "Hinata, you are gorgeous. Whoever makes you feel like that is a meat-head!"
Hinata laughed despite herself and hugged her beautiful friend.
Hinata departed from the mosque shaped bathing house which was the only building lit from within in the dark of the night.
She wrapped herself in a bulky cotton veil and hurried to her bed chamber. She can't believe how fast her day went and it was already evening.
Her bare feet looked almost silvery on the marble tiles as she paced towards her private space designated for priestesses like herself.
The moon was already up in the dark velvet sky, surrounded by a soft misty halo of pure light. It was a full moon. She liked all phases of the moon, but there was just something about a full moon that captured her imagination.
When she arrived at her bed chamber, she took off her veil and hung it on the wall, and turned to her desk where she lit her tiny oil lamp that offered miniscule light that still gave her a sense of warmth and comfort.
Then came her favorite part of her ritual before going to bed-she opened up the curtains to her medium sized window to allow the silvery moon beams. She just loved how the celestial body shed its light to infiltrate into various parts of her darkly cloaked room. She allowed her face, shoulders, breasts to bath in the heavenly light and closed her eyes.
But something was slightly different about this night. There was a palpable tension in the air that caused her eyes to flutter open and stare into the abyss-like darkness.
She stared into the darkness, her gaze transfixed into the void as if she was under the spell.
Somehow she recognized this feeling. She could not pin point when she felt this, but in the midst of the sweet smelling dew of wet lilac and rustling trees,
she felt transfixed to the spot.
It was the same bizarre and heady scented sensation when she was lying asleep one night in her bed and felt an overwhelming presence of darkness encroaching upon her. That darkness. She could never forget. It was an overpowering, forbidding, and potent force she has never faced in her entire life.
It seemed as if the dark body was staring down at her with a gaze that put the divine flames of Vesta to shame, but when she opened her eyes and her lips trembled as she asked in a shaky voice, "who's there?" the presence dissipated in thin air. But she could not shake away the feeling that the 'presence' left something deeply buried within her. It left a trace that could never be effaced, with all the holy, cathartic fire and water in the world.
That force was watching her.
Then suddenly she heard a clear, echoing sound of an owl hooting in the air.
Before the echoing ceased, her vision was surrounded by a powerful spread of a moonlit wing and two orbs that shone like scarlet gemstones in the night.
Onyx colored feathers fluttered in the night air, one landing by her hand on the window sill.
Hinata's mouth gaped in awe as she beheld the sight of a beautiful screech owl with a jet black body and two most beautiful carmine gemstones as eyes.
Her feet took a step back at the overwhelming beauty and charisma of this wild creature, but its eyes' magnetic pull kept her still as a statue under its wordless spell.
The dark screech owl with giant, propelling wings settled on the bough of a oak tree right in front of the priestess's window.
The full moon in the background cast its silvery light upon the magnificent winged beasts' body, creating a silhouette of light.
In her state of shock and hearing her heart beat like drums, Hinata could only utter "oh..." Her gasp was in complete adulation of this striking creature that was not at all afraid of humanity, its bold stare piercing through her.
Hinata assumed that this awe-inspiring creature of the night would spare her one look and then disappear into the midnight abyss, but to her amazement, the creature stood still and stared at her as if expecting something.
The feathers seemed to be crystallization of ink snow while a perfectly symmetrical triangle of facial marks settled between brilliant garnet eyes.
When the creature did not move away, in her joy and amazement and fear that she will scare it away, Hinata said, "you are so beautiful-"
The screech owl looked at her with its ruby eyes and then preened itself.
Hinata giggled, hiding her smiling lips behind her hands. How cute-she mused.
Somehow, for some strange reason, the shy priestess felt compelled to reach out her hand and touch the mysterious winged spirit of the night.
"Ca-can I touch thee?" she asked tentatively as she reached out her hand.
The beast was as big as the trained hawks of Grecian soldiers, and she knew how ferocious these winged beasts could be-tearing able-bodied dears to meaty shreds with its talons. If crossed, this powerful owl can rip her into half with its bronze talons.
The owl stared at her with its calm, placid ruby eyes. For some reason, Hinata almost felt as if this wordless, silent creature of power understood her humble, human words.
Gaining courage from the creature's marble gaze, the shy woman reached out her hand and tentatively stroked its silken wing with her fingers.
She felt a warm shiver.
She quickly retracted her hand to her chest in her fright that she ignited the wrath of this creature, but the owl merely looked at her.
Her iridescent eyes stared wide-eyed at the creature as she stood frozen.
Contrary to her expectation, the owl stood its place on the bough, staring at her.
Hinata gathered her courage. "Can...I pet thee?"
The redness of the owl's eyes that reminded her of blood deepened in its carmine hue.
Her fair hands reached out and gently, almost tenderly touched the owl. The owl careened its head towards her direction and relished in her touches like a petted lamb.
Hinata felt as if she could cry in joy, but felt solace in finding silence despite her thundering heart, as she touched the owl.
After being covered with her gentle touches and drinking in Hinata's praises of its beauty, the owl turned and spread its wings and disappeared into the darkness.
Hinata marveled at the haughty demeanor of this winged creature and stood transfixed for a long time, wondering if she would ever see this creature again.
Several days passed. It was another uneventful day for Hinata. Breakfast. Hushed whispers with her comrade priestesses. Shuffling footsteps on marble. The smell of incense. The heat of the Vestal flames.
But one thing definitely changed. At night, the priestess was greeted by her mysterious, grand visitor by the window again.
She was sitting on her desk, going through the holy scriptures by the burning oil lamp until she saw the shadow of an owl across her desk.
Her voice was full of elation as she rose, "Oh, it's you!"
It has been several days since this beautiful winged creature visited the humble priestess.
Hinata decided that the sex of her visitor to be male. The powerful gait and form of this owl, in her eyes, looked like a mythical warrior.
The second day the owl visited, she pondered on the name to call the owl by.
"Your feathers rival the night," she contemplated, "your eyes capture the soul."
She pursed her pouty lips as she perused her encyclopedia of divinity and animals, "Screech owls are known to be harolds of death. But death can't be as beautiful as you."
She closed her eyes in sorrow, "However, sadly, I am not creative. How about I call you 'Thanatos?' After the god of death?"
The owl turned its head to the side, which made Hinata wonder if the creature was acknowledging her or simply ignoring her.
She smiled and rested her elbows on the window sill, looking much more comfortable in this beast's magnificent presence than before.
She leaned forward to this creature, as the moonlight showered on the crown of her ebony blue head.
She put on a most open, welcoming smile, "My handsome visitor."
Then suddenly, the owl did something unusual. The owl's ruby red eyes dilated as if in shock towards Hinata and it hurriedly turned its head away.
Due to the sweltering heat of the night air, Hinata was wearing a flimsy linen dress that gave a bountiful eyeful of her pale arms and breasts. She did not bound her breasts at all, as she was alone in her chamber.
Strangely, within the veneer of feathers and sinewy strength, there was restlessness coiling in the owl's form.
"Oh?" her light lavender eyes that caught the moonlight widened, "Thanatos." She asked carefully, wondering if she was sane herself, "are you shy?"
Her merry laughter rang like the silvery tingling of bells by the breeze. The only laughter she made when she was truly humored.
A shy owl at the sight of her body. Her imagination must be getting the best of her. Was she that vain? Silly Hinata-she chastised herself.
"Oh, I almost forgot." she hurried to the back. She returned with something wrapped in linen, "I always just served you water, but look at what I brought today-"
Unwrapping the linen, she continued to speak as if to a dear friend, "I asked my cousin Neji what owls tend to eat, and he said they subsist on rats. But of course, Thanatos, I can't give you rats. So I brought you the next best thing."
In her hand, was a loaf of bread.
She tore a piece and took it to the owl's beak as she opened her enticing lips, "ah-"
The owl looked at her for a long drawn moment, and cutely cocked its round head side to side before nipping on the piece of bread and swallowing it.
She smiled broadly, and ripped another piece and fed the owl. It felt like a childish game of innocence, and the beautiful owl looked so cute in her eyes.
That night, she fed the owl and wove out sweet stories of her day to the creature that patiently listened with its intelligent ruby eyes.
That day was the day she had to perform animal sacrifice, which always made her drop to the deepest level of despair.
She remembered letting out a deep sigh as she crouched over a cage full of well tended bunny rabbits that clamored for her soft hands.
Her smile was gentle as she gazed down at the sacrificial victims, but her eyes held the weight of overwhelming sadness.
As she remembered, she was quiet for a moment, almost pensive. Then she opened her lips,
"I do not think I could ever get used to seeing the animals being sacrificed."
The owl tilted its round head as it gazed at her.
"I cannot help but love them with all my heart. Thanatos, I understand that you hunt for animals for living, but gods...They feast on ambrosia and golden apples, why do they need to see innocent animals die?"
She remembered crying her eyes out when she was forced to sacrifice Ichor, a sweet lamb she tended to very dearly. But she had to, because the goddess of spring demands a sacrifice or there will be a plague as history told the people.
"Is it strange that I study animals so I could find the easiest, swiftest way for them to die, Thanatos?"
When she asked the owl, it merely watched her with eyes devoid of judgment.
"People say that I am weirdly cruel because I could be sweet to the animals but then I kill them in a heartbeat at the time of sacrifice. But they would never know how much it breaks my heart to let them go."
She bowed her head, "I am sure the animals I take care of are deathly afraid of me. They probably hate me when they cross the river of Styx."
In contrary, they love you. They knew when it was time for them to go. The beasts miss you. Would you come with me?
But her mortal ears had no way to hear those words.
In the middle of the temple of Sakura in broad daylight, Hinata let out a short cry as a birch branch that she was holding suddenly snapped on her face.
Tiny rivulets of blood dripped from her pale cheek.
Fellow priestesses gasped, as this was seen as a bad omen. Usually birch branches that were sacrificed at the vestal altar were all meticulously stripped of thorns and pricks.
"Ah, it is my carelessness," Hinata blushed and touched her bleeding cheek. Thankfully it was just a scratch, but it still struck an ill sense of foreboding in her.
The priestesses glanced at her warily. Men avoided her like plague. The goddess's birch branch scratched her cheek. Perhaps priestess Hinata did something to awake the ire of the goddess? What would come next?
Throughout the day, Hinata kept telling herself it was her carelessness that she allowed a birch branch that was not completely stripped of its thorns scratch her cheek.
That night, her mysterious feathered friend was sitting by her window sill again, waiting for her.
She found herself making a genuine smile as she saw her friend, her sense of unease alleviating at the sight of the owl that gazed at her.
Even if human words were not shared, she was able to understand the silent meanings communicated by the owl's motionless but mystically eloquent eyes, the purring of its wings, its soldier-straight posture, the careening and playful tilts of its round head.
When the owl did not do anything, except gave her face a straight gaze- as if studying her contours and shape, she suddenly felt assessed-exposed.
She touched her cheek and asked in surprise, "do you see my scratch?"
The owl simply looked at her. She felt her cheeks growing red. Often, she found Thanatos' blood red eyes seem almost human, more alive and thoughtful than the eyes of most people she sees day in and day out.
She drew out a small looking glass from her basket of toiletries nearby and gazed, "it is a small scratch but...I guess I will put on some ointment."
For some reason, she felt bashful as she applied a thin layer of ointment on her cheek as she looked at her mirror. Perhaps it's because she felt the owl's gaze behind her back. She did not realize that the owl's shadow cast by the moon was shaped as a tall man looming over her.
She placed her mirror on her desk when she was done and twirled in levity, "Back!"
When she approached the window again, the owl merely stared at her as if she was some kind of puzzling phenomenon.
As bizarre as this sounded, Hinata felt the intensity of the owl's scrutinizing gaze.
To her surprise, the owl did something it never did before. In an agile gait, the owl hopped over and perched on her window sill, its beak a mere inch away from her cheek that had the scar.
Before Hinata could face the owl directly, she felt a small puff of air on her scarred cheek.
Her eyes widened. Did he just...blow on my scar?
When she felt the puff of air again, she giggled, "It-it tickles, Thanatos."
The owl puffed another bout of air again, and Hinata giggled as it tickled. She soon started feeling her moods uplift. It was as if the owl knew how to make her feel better. She sweetly leaned in towards her comforter, and a series of giggles escaped between her rosy flushed lips.
Then suddenly she heard a low sigh by her ear-undeniably human. She froze. The voice carried on by that lowly emitted sigh was distinctly masculine.
Minute hair rose at end on her nape at the sound of the masculine and slightly ragged sigh.
She took a step back and stared at the owl, "Th-Thanatos?"
The owl stared at her, in a way, this time had her feel shaken.
Then it turned and spread its wide wings and flew off.
When he finally was fully cloaked in the darkness, the owl turned into a tall man who stood still in the shadows of the moonlit oak trees.
The swarthy man stared at the distant window of the priestess and saw the light extinguished, signalling that she was asleep on bed.
His hand touched his chiseled lips that felt the warmth radiated by her cheek. The cool wind provided a sweet balmy relief to his lips that were burnt by that proximity. His entire body felt as in flames. The pure maiden did not know how close she was to the clutches of death.
Wait- he told himself.
But he did not know how long it will take before he exhausts his patience. He did not know for how long he was supposed to wait.
He sighed again.
Hinata did not even get a blink of sleep the night the owl left with a resounding sigh.
When it was night again, Hinata looked at the window eagerly but her eyes were downcast as she saw the empty window sill.
Thanatos did not come.
Disappointed and feeling a tinge of sorrow, Hinata swept underneath her blankets and willed herself to sleep. She opened her eyes that were half lidded and hollow. She asked herself -is this how to feels to pine for a lost lover?
She closed her eyes. How ridiculous I am.
When she opened her eyes, she saw someone dressed in a swarthy robe right before her nose. Puzzled, she looked up to whom she was standing before.
When she looked above, she saw the most breathtaking face she ever beheld in her life.
From the core of her being, she knew this man had to be divine. At her right bearing of mind, she would have bowed but she stood rooted to the spot as if frozen.
That was when she heard the same distinct masculine voice that carried the yearning sigh the night before-'I am trying to seduce you," the deep, gravelly voice said.
She did not register the meaning of words but heard it-the hint of un-called for aggression, the skin-felt frustration that told her to run-.
Strong fingers enveloped her creamy throat. She sucked in a quick breath.
The dark eyes that shone like purest onyx glared at her beneath elegantly tapered eyebrows. The man's face furrowed at her with predatory malice.
At seeing her tremble, the dark brows slowly eased and the frown that marred his handsome face lifted.
Then as his lips came precariously close over her trembling ones, he closed his eyes.
She heard the slow sensuous drawl to his voice as he growled, "But how come I am the one seduced?"
A powerful arm wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her close.
His lips pressed against hers unapologetically. Her pale lavender eyes widened in shock.
Suddenly the man before her dispersed into a blast of amorphous twilight fog that quickly enveloped her in a suffocating embrace of scattered stars amid darkness.
She was caught in a luminescent web of milky way stars and pure essence of the nocturne that encircled her body and blinded her visions. She felt intoxicated as her eyes fell half lidded as she was lifted to the air, surrounded by the satiny ribbons of midnight air. She felt as if she was slowly being pushed to an edge of a cliff but was powerless to stop. Drugged by this strange force, she closed her eyes.
Then she heard a cuckoo cry from the distance, and she found herself on her bed.
Perspiration beaded on her shoulders as she rose and saw that yet another morning dawned on her.
But it was all too real to pass as a dream. Her fingers felt her lips in confusion. After feeling the strange tingling sensation on her lips and remembering jet black eyes, she buried her burning face into her pillow.
Back in the Olympos, the god of sun, Naruto asked with an exuberant sense of anticipation, rubbing his hands, "So did you do it?" He made a sly grin.
Sasuke remained silent as he sat down, his elbow placed on his knee as he gazed down in the direction of Sakura's temple.
Despite the lack of reaction, Naruto balked, "What, you didn't?"
He asked the most incredulous-sounding "WHY?"
Naruto went on, " I mean, gods do it all the time. You know how lazy Shikamaru is? He did it. Chouji, with his fat ass did it. Kakashi wrote a book on what to do's. Our predecessors did it. Zeus did it with the gold rain thing. And turning into a swan. You know how he got Hera in the first place? He turned into a bird in the middle of a thunderstorm so she felt bad and took it in."
When the god of underworld remained quiet, Naruto continued, "Sasuke, it's just the easy way in. If you want the girl, you should just take her."
"She isn't like that."
Sasuke finally faced him directly in a stern gaze, "She isn't something to be treated like that."
His dark eyes gazed down at the mortals realm in sharpened menace.
"It...does not feel right."
He was ashamed to say that he was tempted. He almost succumbed to his base desires and had her under influence of his powers like the gods Naruto mentioned. But before he had his way with her, he stopped.
"With her...it feels wrong."
"You know what that means." Naruto made a suggestive eyebrow pop.
When Sasuke threw him a wary glance, Naruto made a knowing smile, "You're in love, Sasuke."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him and then turned his head away and gazed into the distance.
Naruto shrugged, "Well, at least show yourself before her then, instead of moping around. And stop turning into a bird. That is so outdated!"
Sasuke said flatly, as he rose from his seat on the clouds, "Gaara recommended it."
"Ba-" Naruto could almost chortle, "just because he has the word "love" tattooed on his forehead, he thinks he could be the god of love and deserts. It's ridiculous."
"She likes animals," Sasuke hissed. "It's working."
"Yeah, whatever you say, Sasuke. You might want to add pressure to the courting thing though. Even if you gave her the seal of Hades, it is not fool-proof. If a man wants her enough, the seal won't work. Even if the man is mortal."
Mortal men, priests and commoners, all started to avoid Hinata ever since the god of underworld has planted a seal of Hades on her lips.
Poor priestess Hinata of course did not notice that her lips contained the sweet pressure of death and would sniff her clothes and hair whenever a man recoiled at her presence.
When he saw the sight of the woman sniffing her own hair and making a perplexed frown, a smile made its way across his chiseled lips.
Naruto sighed and shook his head. Sasuke had it bad. Even love could make gods fools.
When he flew to her windowsill, he smiled as he saw the priestess gaze forlornly at the empty window sill.
At the sound of the wings fluttering, she raised her head and instantly light of happiness returned to her light lavender eyes, "Thanatos!"
When he perched on the bough, he met her gaze as she clapped her hands together, "Where have you been, Thanatos? I almost thought you would never come back!"
Of course, I would come back-he wanted to retort. Instead he gazed at her beatific smile, her flushed face, and he drank in the delight apparent in her eyes as if she was afraid that if she turned her gaze away, he would disappear.
Then he fluttered his wings and rose, and swept a round across the high ceiling of her chamber. He basked in the way she looked up to him in adulation and wonder. Finally, he landed gracefully back on the window sill. He then watched her quietly, as if he was waiting for something.
Each time he looked at her-he became more and more confident.
However, that confidence became ephemeral as someone entered the private abode of the priestess with a knock on the door's threshold.
"Hinata sama..."
The priestess jerked her face away from the owl and looked at the direction where the voice came from. She raised her hands to her mouth to silence her scream and her heart pounded rapidly. Her face was pale , as nobody, especially a man, was to intrude in the abode of a goddess's servant.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the intruder. If this was an unwelcomed intruder, he will rip his body with his talons and then subject him to the worst tortures in Tartarus.
Sasuke glanced at Hinata.
He was surprised when he saw that once she saw the intruder's face, her face was swept with a look of relief.
She quickly turned and walked towards the tall visitor, "The king!"
The man called the king was half submerged in the shadows of a tall alabaster pillar. His long legs and lean torso were swathed with cool summer muslin. Cool shadows were cast over his long brown tresses, symmetrical regal facial features, and hard ivory eyes. His narrow pale feet were clad with simple brown calf leather sandals. His long brown hair swept by his back, tied in a loose pony tail, and his forehead was bound with a black silk band with gold embroidery.
The man bowed his head, his face impassive, "Hinata sama-"
Despite his statue-like composure, the usually timorous priestess all but leaped to him in an embrace with her arms wrapped around his neck.
After releasing himself from her embrace, the king surveyed her features with pale eyes similar to hers in color. An amused smirk tugged at the end of the man's lips at her exuberant display of affections.
Without a hint of being embarrassed of her affections, Hinata asked, "What brings you here, your majesty?"
The king offered her a scroll gilded with embroidered silk, "From the royal archives, as you requested."
"Oh, " she took the scroll, "thank you, thank you! This will greatly help me in my assignment-"
He quirked an eyebrow as he looked down at her, "Does the high priest give you too much work?" His frown deepened.
She swayed her hand as if the notion was nonsense, "Oh, no, no~ It's just he trusts me a lot. And it's been forever since I met him directly, Neji ni-san. It's strange but you see, men have been avoiding me."
"Men have been avoiding you." He spoke each word as if tasting each syllable on his tongue. His eyes shifted to a side as in deep pondering.
"Ye-yes, it might sound odd, ni-san, but you are the first man I talked to in quite some time." She blushed at how that must sound and quickly tried to remedy her words, "Not that I see you as a man, but-"
Suddenly her words were cut off when she felt large hands gather her long hair together and clasp around her neck in a surprisingly tender gesture.
Her smile slowly diminished and instead was replaced with a wide-eyed, speechless wonder, the kind that had a current of vulnerability.
Her vision registered a pair of silvery grey eyes beneath thick, tapered brows, gazing down at her in hard silence.
"Neji...ni san?"
Still not relinquishing his grasp on her, the king continued to look down at her.
Then he glanced at the winged bystander watching them from the distance.
While she wondered how she could free herself without making it obvious that she was feeling flustered, he smoothly diverged the subject matter, "Interesting pet you have, Hinata sama."
"Ah," she felt as if she was broken from some trance, "this is Thanatos-" She wished he would release his gentle grip on her as she was feeling uncomfortably flushed and feared it would show, "he has been visiting me every night." She tried to gaze at her winged friend with a sweet, amiable smile, but Neji's hold on her kept her from turning away. His hold though gentle, nonetheless forced her to only gaze up at him, and surprised, she looked up towards her cousin.
As if he was not aware of his hold on her, the king stared at the owl. He finally said" I see" in a dry tone. His silvery pale eyes glanced at the winged creature with blood red irises while holding up her face. The king kept his hard gaze on the creature that also kept its piercing eyes locked on the two.
The king's piercing gaze remained on the red-eyed owl for a moment. It was almost as if he could see through what was truly hidden beneath.
Then as if the creature was a mere afterthought, he turned his gaze back to the petite, diffident woman and said, "I would be off to an overseas mission and would be absent for a while, Hinata sama."
"Ah-" Hinata said, "I hope you do not strain yourself, Neji ni-san. Please take care of yourself." Her eyes held visible concern and her brows knitted at the thought of another battle, another overseas campaign for her cousin.
He smiled, a genuine one this time, "I will." His long, elegant index finger stroke the strand of hair hanging by her temple. Her eyes closed at the gesture, revealing long lashes.
Sasuke almost shattered the bough he was perched on with his bronze talons as he saw the tender moment.
Heat gathered near his blood red eyes as he looked at the man's hands that just touched her throat, the same neck he just touched the night before.
Ah- this is what it feels to want to kill a man. It has been forever for Sasuke to feel this kind of wrath. He did not remember when he succumbed to such rage. At this moment, the unspeakable ire sustained him.
Maybe Naruto was right for once.
Maybe it was time.
Only when the king left her alone, he departed as well, setting in motion his secret calculations.
Sakura rejoiced to see the god of the underworld visit her unannounced in her chamber at Mount Olympos. As always, he was an absolute bliss to behold, the epitome of masculine beauty.
However, it seemed as if her beau was in a foul mood. He barely spared a glance at her, which was sadly not out of ordinary for her cold lover, but the fact that he endowed her with his presence was enough to suffice. She did not realize that it was only her who thought they were in a loving relationship.
He stood radiant in his dark robe with drapes that made him look like a pillar made of pure onyx.
He was gazing towards the direction at her temple. When she looked at what was happening, she saw her priestess Hinata, bidding farewell to the rather handsome mortal king Neji as he parted for his overseas campaign.
When she turned her gaze back to her divine beloved, she missed how the king pulled the priestess in an embrace so overpowering that it knocked the air from her. Hinata looked up to Neji inquisitively, and before she could ask any question, he promptly disengaged himself and turned away, leaving her.
Sasuke's jaw clenched, and a savage glint shone in his usually impassive eyes.
Then his face suddenly lost all traces of visible emotion, and his brow and lips were smoothed out of tension.
He faced Sakura coldly.
"I'm bored," he declared.
Sakura was surprised as this was not what she expected him to say.
Then he ordered the further unexpected, "Turn off your Vestal fire."
Sakura's emerald eyes widened. "But Sasuke-"
"I said it." He grounded out, "turn off your vestal fire."
"Ah-" afraid that she will no longer be in his favor, Sakura nodded and then with some hesitance, she extinguished the Vestal flames with a snap of her fingers.
If her lover wanted sacrifice, so be it. She could always afford another priestess, though princess Hinata was a rare one for her diligence and selflessness.
Harrowing shrieks and cries of impending doom emerged from the temple of the spring goddess.
The mortals cried. "The Vestal flames! They're gone! The priestess has been impure! Honor the goddess! Bury her alive!"
"Bury her! Bury her!"
It all happened in an instant. Once the flames of Vesta diminished under her careful hands, multitudes of hands seized her as if they waited for her failure all along and dragged her to the room of punishment.
There was no court, no trial even. Neji was not even there to intervene on her behalf. If he was there, he would have stepped forward and immediately put a stop to this chaotic madness.
She cried for mercy, for salvation, but there was none.
"Please," the priestess cried, "I'm innocent-! I never, ever committed any crime to the goddess!"
Once she was dragged by two men to the center of the room of punishment, the people withdrew the grand carpet that covered the sealed door to the underground chamber. Cold eyes merely spectated her downfall.
When her eyes beheld the golden lock revealed on the floor, she cried out, "no, no!"
The lock was open with a click, and the heavy door on the floor opened slowly, revealing mortar stairs descending into a dark abyss.
She dragged her sandal-clad feet across the floor as she was dragged towards the stairs.
Mercilessly, they threw her down, careless whether they broke her fragile body in the rough process.
She rushed up the stairs in a pure instinctive effort to salvage her redemption and beg for mercy, but the men pushed her back and quickly drew the brick wall of underground chamber closed. The light from the gap between the door and the ceiling receded, and she was surrounded with darkness.
She beat on the closed ceiling, but the door was shut indomitably, and she accidentally tumbled down to the deepest of the dark underground.
Her veil was torn, her hair in a messy dishevel, her blouse that covered her shoulders was ripped, her feet were bare, and her heels were bleeding.
When she was tossed to the far bottom of the chamber, she saw that she was left with no oil lamp or even a morsel of bread as protocol.
She shivered in the dark. It felt so cold in the underground even in the middle of summer. She blew warm air into her hands, but felt so cold-the smell of death as well as complete darkness encased her.
She whimpered once confusion settled and she realized no hope could be found in her despondent state. She could not survive without food and water until Neji comes back to save her. Inconsolable sobs racked her body, as she cried. She drew her knees to her forehead and sobbed. At this moment, there was utterly no hope.
Then as if she finally lost her mind and became deranged in that short span of time, she lifted her head from her knees and saw large rings of light illuminating a receding tunnel that had no earthly reason to exist in the sealed underground chamber. She rubbed her eyes, but still saw the illuminated tunnel. She clearly has lost her mind.
Since she could only expect the worst-death, she gathered courage and stumbled to her feet and walked towards the tunnel.
And once she entered the threshold of light, when she turned back, she was confounded with a stone wall that forbade her from ever turning back.
It was as if the dark wall was propelling her forth.
She only had one choice- move forward.
It was still dark but the light allowed her to see about ten feet before her as she kept moving. She mustered her courage and walked into the deeper depths of darkness.
Perhaps this is connected to a way out of the underground she thought optimistically.
Hope urged her feet to walk steadily in the dark.
However, when she saw something in the middle of the tunnel, her heart froze and she stopped.
She thought at first it might be an animal, a mole or some sort that inhabits underneath the soil, but it was too tall and lean, too human to be a mole.
She furrowed her eyes and tried to peer closer, and her eyes widened when it occurred to her that this could not be anything else but a man.
A scream of a woman echoed in the deep illuminated tunnel when a tall figure emerged before her, his masculine hand holding a diamond shaped source of light floating in the air. The emanated pale teal light revealed dark eyes, a straight nose, and chiseled lips, all unfamiliar features to her.
Icy fear pierced through her entire being, and her legs felt a sudden loss of strength as she almost collapsed to the ground.
Hinata held out her hands, "Please- please don't hurt me-!"
The man approached her, his dark eyes cold and the set of his lips firm.
"Stay-stay back!" When she turned, she hit her face against a hard wall. Her head throbbed with a shattering headache, which probably meant that her forehead was bruised, but she clawed on the stone and sobbed.
To her dismay, she heard the resounding echo of heavy footsteps towards her.
She flinched and closed her eyes shut once she felt his hand grasp her upper arm. Look where she took herself. Now she might meet a fate worse than death.
Her virtue was the only thing she had left.
But instead of harsh hands and what she thought was her inevitable fate, she felt a warm light much like sunshine cover her arm and the span of her entire back.
She opened her teary eyes and looked behind her, to see the man carefully examine her bruises on her back and cover her with an enigmatic light.
Once he was done, the light that engulfed her wounds disappeared, and she no longer felt the throbbing pain across her body.
Then she felt the same hand that healed her take her trembling hand, intertwining fingers, and the tall man led her towards the illuminated tunnel.
She almost tripped over the stones that became visible under the strange light the man carried.
She asked tentatively, "Who-who are you?"
When the man did not answer, she felt her heart pounding. For some reason, the man's presence felt oddly familiar.
She could only come to one logical conclusion, "A-are you the king's subordinate?"
The man stopped in his track. She nearly bumped into his back.
When he was still quiet, she tried to be brave and asked again.
"Di-did Neji ni san send for me? To protect me?"
Her voice held fear but also a strong sense of hope.
How else could this be explained, if her cousin who always seemed to be one step ahead did not send aide to protect her from harm?
As if he was pondering his answer, he was silent for a while. Then he finally humored her, "No."
Her heart pounded. For some reason, this voice. It sounded familiar. The slight gravely edge to a husky voice. Where did I hear this before?
She shirked as she saw him look at her with a heated glance, "I am not sent by your king." To her shock, he said the last word with thinly disguised scorn, as if this man before her was not subject to the king's rule at all.
But...that is here is subject to the king's dominion. She thought. Then who could this stranger be?
Her pale lavender eyes widened when she heard his following words dripping in determination and contempt, "And soon your king will know you are mine."
She was shocked. It was not just this stranger's claim of ownership over her, but also his blatant disrespect of everything she upheld in her life. Only a true barbarian would sound so irreverent before the Cretan royals. Born and raised a princess most of her life, she snatched her hand away from his grasp angrily, "How dare you!"
"Actually," the man's voice echoed in the tunnel, "I could." He sneered as he took a step forward in her direction. He seemed to have taken pleasure in her unexpected burst of passion just before as if he discovered something of great interest. She stepped back. "You could say I orchestrated all this."
She felt all blood drain from her face, "What?" The snuffed out flames of Vesta, her losing all grace from the people, her being thrown into the underground chamber-this man planned it all along? How could this be? It was not possible.
Perhaps, she pondered- she was dealing with a delusional mad man. Only a mad man could sound so audacious before the royalty and live underneath the earth.
But for some reason, she had no choice but to believe this man, no matter how deranged his words seemed. He looked too elegant, too sane of mind.
When he processed her face, his harsh countenance gradually softened. However, that did nothing to ease her nerves.
"It was necessary," he spoke gently as he leaned towards her and kissed her temple, almost apologetically, "I needed Sakura to cut all ties with you. Even if I am a more powerful deity, it is against divine law to take away what belongs to another god without permission."
He withdrew from his kiss and looked down at her with the content satisfaction of a predator, "Now that she foolishly tossed you aside, my desires are fulfilled."
"Why-" she backed away and held out her trembling hand to keep distance from him. He looked at her sharply, but he respected her desire for distance and remained where he was.
She raised her voice against the nameless but powerful god; now she had no doubt this was a god. This was not human-her instincts screamed at her.
Her voice shook as she cried, "Why are you doing this?"
He did not say anything. Except he just watched her.
In response to his silence, she implored this mighty, nameless god before her, "What could you possibly gain from having my bond severed from my divine mistress?"
"You."
She stilled. She opened her lips to ask what? but no sound came out.
A smile broadened across his lips, and his eyes turned burning red in the pitch black darkness. "I could have you."