Neji wasn't sure what to make of Inuzuka Kiba; the man looked like he had never met a comb in his life, the markings on his face foreign and indecipherable to Neji's searching eyes. Idly he wondered if it was a matter of rank or merely an intimidation tactic, smearing his face with scarlet like blood. He wondered if the faded tans, browns and greens of Kiba's outfit hid other markings or if the Inuzuka hid a skill less obvious than that of the Hyuuga. He kept his questions to himself though, more concerned with the object burning a hole through his sleeve than any of the questions Kiba plied him with- what Hinata would have been wearing, what time they had discovered her missing, what routes their people had checked and how many people had already been out searching.
"I need something of hers," Kiba said finally, summoning his dog up to its feet with the softest snap of his fingers. Neji was impressed with the beast's training at least, on the man he would withhold judgment. "Something like cloth that holds scent, and something she wore a lot if you can manage it."
Neji led him to Hinata's room, pausing on the threshold for the merest second; "Her cloak. I'll bring it out to you," he finished finally, gliding into the room and sliding the door to behind him. He was surprisingly protective of her space, he found. Neat and tidy, all her things put away. He had taken exquisite care to ensure the room was exactly as she had left it, not wanting her to feel the intrusion into this private sanctuary too keenly.
He gathered up her cloak and stepped out just as quickly, trying not to linger too long himself; Kiba snatched it from his hands as soon as he returned, raising it to his nose and drawing the scent like he was the tracker and not the hound at his side. Neji snatched the cloak back before he knew what he was doing, "what the hell are you doing?"
The words came out sharper than he intended; he bundled the cloak close as though it were Hinata herself.
"Relax, this is what I'm paid for," Kiba held out an impatient hand and Neji reluctantly surrendered the garment again, lip curling with distaste as Kiba repeated the gesture before handing the cloak to his dog.
"We have something to go on at least. It would be better if you let me into her room…" Seeing the set of Neji's jaw, Kiba rolled his eyes and pressed on, "but we'll see if we can work with just this first."
"There is one other thing," Neji offered, drawing his well-kept secret from his sleeve. At first glance it might have been confused for a crow's feather, only no crow's wing had ever needed such a long, sturdy feather. Whereas most crow's feathers changed with the light, this one was unremitting black, swallowing any light that touched it rather than reflecting. "I found this along the path where I assume she was taken."
Kiba whistled, examining the feather closely, "I haven't seen this before. What the hell kind of bird grows that big?" His eyes flicked up to Neji's, "But you don't think it's a bird or you wouldn't be showing it to me."
Neji hesitated, he had thought he knew reality from fairy tale; then Hinata had vanished without a trace, undetectable even to his unnaturally keen eyes. He wasn't sure what to make of what he had found, but he wasn't cynical or foolish enough to dismiss it either of it was all he had to go on. "I don't know what it is, but I think it's connected to Hinata's disappearance."
"You think she was abducted by crows? Carried off by birds?"
"Finding out where she went is what you're paid for," Neji returned sharply. "Are you not up to it?"
Kiba smirked, "Course I am, but if I have to piss off any gods or spirits to bring her back, I'm charging double."
"All you have to do is find her trail. I'll deal with whatever took her."
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She was trying to kill him. Naruto knew it the same way he knew when a storm was coming or when something was about to go horribly wrong; just that nagging, disquieting feeling that weighed on him all day until the storm broke or the inevitable happened. The trouble was, every time he had just decided to say something about it, Hinata would give him one of those wide-eyed glances he typically associated with baby animals and ask if she had done something wrong. Just like she was doing now, one of her fists twined around his as they sparred playfully.
"Um," she paused to gather her thoughts, clever fingers finding a pressure point that sent a spike of pain shooting up his arm and releasing him as soon as he sucked in a breath, "sorry."
"'S'all right," Hinata slipped out of his grip while he was distracted, blunt palm aiming for a kidney shot he narrowly dodged. Hinata's style didn't have much panache, but it was startlingly efficient and it always ached when she connected. Not that he would tell her as much; she winced every time he blinked wrong and was quick to call for a break.
"It's the clothes, isn't it?" She finally finished her thought, leg twining about his to force him down, yelping when he used brute strength to toss her back from him. "Tenten said Sakura wears them even shorter but I could change if it doesn't fit."
"It's not the clothes." It was, in part, the clothes, "y'can't exactly wear a kimono while we spar, right?"
Hinata tilted her head in that curious way she had, doubtless trying to imagine the picture, "No, but… No."
"Good, so don't worry about it," she tried to slip back in under his guard again, but he was wise to her tricks and caught her left hand before she could sneak another blow. Feign with the right, strike with the left, move out of reach, repeat until he tried to block a left-handed strike and ended up getting hit in the vitals by the right. The only flaw was that she had to be close, and for sheer strength she couldn't match him. After a few of those sneak attacks, he had to call an end to the matches before he forgot to pull his punches.
"It's comfortable, but it still feels a little-" he swept her feet out from under when she wove too close, pinning for a count of three while she tried to writhe out of his hold. She was trying to kill him. "Indecent," she finished, panting softly and completely unaware of the picture she made, clothes clinging with the sweat of a good exercise, cheeks sun-warmed and pink, hair mussed and lips curving into an uncertain smile when he didn't immediately let her up again.
"Why does it matter? I've seen you naked." Hinata scrunched her eyes shut, a blush pinking her ears and racing down her throat, and Naruto grinned unrepentantly, rolling off her and up to his feet to offer a hand. He liked to nettle her sometimes, just to watch her react. She usually tried to give as good as she got, but it was plain she'd never had much practice with flirtation and banter. She was easy to fluster, easy to tease and he loved every minute of it.
"It doesn't matter," she concluded quietly, tugging at her top. Most of the time she managed to forget her new clothes entirely; it had been an adjustment at first and it had taken Naruto two days to coax her into wearing the outfit anywhere outside. Once she had, its benefits were immediately apparent. No clothing to tangle, nothing to trip on, much easier to move in… only sometimes Naruto looked at her and she felt naked again, when he pinned her or clamped her to him she couldn't help but be aware of how neatly they fit together.
Sparring was easier now, but it had also become an exercise in frustration, leaving+* her restless half the time with memories of their wedding night by the time they were finished.
"If you're wondering if I like this, the answer is definitely yes." Naruto tugged playfully at her sleeve, "but like I said, you're pretty in anything."
She was growing resilient to his compliments at least; if she blushed every time he complimented her, she would have spent most days pink as a steamed lobster. Instead Hinata found herself glowing with quiet contentment; whereas she had once struggled to please anyone, Naruto heaped praise on her and she soaked it up like a dry flower would life-saving water. "Thank you," she murmured, trying for a similarly casual tone and tripping over her newly clumsy tongue when she added, "I th-think you're handsome too."
It was Naruto's turn to blush, red as the fur of his fox-form, he ran a shaky hand through his hair, tugging at it while he looked everywhere but at her. He was quick to offer praise, but accepting it was obviously new to him. She chose not to mention that she enjoyed his benign discomfort as much as he enjoyed hers, "I'm not bad." He coughed, offering her a crooked smile.
Hinata smiled back, enjoying the ease between them even as she knew it couldn't last. Every time she paused to notice how much easier it was to talk to him, how much more comfortable she felt, she would remember that he considered them married after all. She shouldn't, but these past few days it had been hard not to slip into a domestic fantasy while they cooked, cleaned, worked and played together. It was nothing like she had seen growing up, the polite distance between her parents, each occupied in their separate spheres of influence. Naruto had never learned any of the courtly etiquette expected between people of her rank. She liked him better for it, wistfully comparing it to what her marriage would have been if she had been made to go through with it.
But there was a new tension in all their interactions now, the push of Naruto treating her as his wife, the pull of Hinata trying not to surrender to the urge to live her daydreams over the summer. It would only make the choice at the turn of the season that much harder, and she knew which choice she should make. Which choice she would make if she was not selfish; she also knew Naruto would never understand why she owed a duty to her family if she hadn't been as happy with them as she was now.
She pondered it as she washed the sweat from her skin, scrubbing the dirt from her face rigorously and peeking over at Naruto as he stripped out of his top to run a cool cloth across his chest and down…
Hinata looked away quickly, catching Naruto's smirk, "you're terrible," she sounded fond even to her own ears.
"I should make you close your eyes and turn around," Naruto tsked, "it isn't fair you sneaking glances. I don't."
"You do," she countered, catching him in the act as she tugged her top up to run the cloth beneath it. Naruto only laughed, completely unabashed at being caught.
"Pfft. I never sneak."
No, she would give him that. Sometimes she was tempted to think he simply didn't have the aptitude for subtlety, but every so often she would catch a considering light in his eye while he watched her. Some shadow that was weighing on him, then he would blink and shake himself and it would be gone. He was the happy, playful Naruto she had come to know. It was that peculiar glance that kept her from surrendering to the dream though, the knowledge that there was still much she didn't know about him.
"Naruto…" Hinata trailed off, not sure what she was trying to ask, but desperately trying to piece together the words to do it. "Why me?"
"Hmm?" Naruto perked up, shooting her a glance from the corner of his eye, "Why you what?"
"Why did you marry me?" She forced the words past bloodless lips, proud when she didn't stumble this time, "why did you take me?"
Fear was not an expression she was accustomed to seeing on Naruto's face, but it flashed through his eyes a second before he answered, swallowing tightly as he did, "I knew you were mine, y'know?"
"I don't," Hinata pressed, turning to face him, trying to keep her eyes strictly on his and not succeeding entirely. She swallowed to wet her dry throat, "you said you were my fox, you said you saw me in the woods. Is that all?"
Naruto tossed his head back, looking all around for help that wasn't quick in appearing. "I, uh…" one hand clasped the back of his neck, the other settling on his hip; she was close to something, and he didn't want to answer it just yet, which made it all the more imperative that he did. "Like I said, I thought you were a celestial and…"
"At first," she acknowledged, "but you took me home, didn't you? You knew I was human."
"Yeeeah," Naruto swore under his breath, wiping his hand across his face and peeping out at her, "Yeah, you're human. Sort of?" He finished lamely, nervousness in every line of his body.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, your eyes…"
"Oh," Hinata relaxed, "it's a family trait, our skill. There's nothing inhuman in it."
"Eeh." Naruto shuffled closer, "that thing you do where you can sort of… see stuff? Have you tried that lately?"
Hinata frowned, "you mean," she squinted, using her byakugan and seeing… nothing, though her head ached with the effort. "There's nothing," she said, relaxing infinitesimally.
"Dammit," Naruto muttered, stepping closer still, she didn't resist when he caught her left hand, reaching across to twine it with his own. "Try again? Please?"
"Are we… interrupting something?" A delicate voice inquired, followed by a smothered titter.
Hinata leapt away as though scalded, flashing an apologetic look at Naruto who had already spun about to confront the intruder, "Sakura! Don't you know a serious conversation when you see one?"
"She didn't think you were capable of having one," Ino laughed, propping herself companionably on Sakura's shoulder.
"Both of you? Don't you have any other men to torment, Ino?"
"None half so entertaining as you," Ino stepped around him, catching Hinata's shoulders to give her an assessing once-over. "Not bad, I think. Do you like it?"
"Yes," she reached out to Naruto but he was ducking out, grumbling about inconvenient guests and rude interruptions. "Naruto!" He paused, looking at her over his shoulder, "We'll talk later?" Hinata finished hopefully, not daring to breathe again until he nodded, jaw clamped shut.
"Something's ruined his day," Sakura commented, brows winging up in surprise, "are you two alright?"
"Fine, just… talking."
"That's his third favorite hobby, don't get him started or he'll never shut up," Ino chuckled, patting Hinata's shoulder comfortingly. She didn't notice she was being led from the room until they were perched comfortably on the cushions Naruto had dug out of a back room to set before a window, Ino pushed her into one gently, settling beside her. "Well? How goes it?"
"What?"
"Anything," Ino said, the same time Sakura chimed "everything."
"I wonder," Hinata began carefully, unsure of how much Naruto would want them to know, wondering how much she needed to know and what he was keeping from her, "if I could ask a few questions?"
"That doesn't sound good," Ino folded her hands across her chest, narrowing her eyes in consideration.
"It's not- I didn't mean-"
"We're not offended," Sakura hastened to add, throwing Ino a reproachful look from the side of her eye, "just, has Naruto not explained anything to you?"
"You're human, right? You have a lot of catching up to do if you're going to stay."
"He told you?"
Silence for one beat, two, not the comfortable sort that fell between she and Naruto in the evenings as they played cards but one heavy with misgivings. "I think we had better start at the beginning. Starting with what Naruto is meant to have told us, but first, tea."
Sakura stood, smoothing out her seafoam tsukesage, nothing like Hinata's practical training outfit. For the first time since they had arrived she felt self-conscious, then realized neither one had paid her garb any mind except to be sure it fit correctly. Then she registered what Sakura had said, "Tea! Forgive me, I didn't think."
Hinata started to stand, but Sakura pushed her down again with a firm hand, "I know my way around, just give me a minute."
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"Sasuke!" Naruto knew he couldn't be far; Sakura took her duties seriously and chief among them was keeping an eye on the last Uchiha.
"Keep your voice down," Sasuke pushed away from the gate where he had been leaning, joining Naruto in the shade of the trees nearer the shrine. "Do you want everything in this forest to hear you?"
Naruto shrugged eloquently, sprawling on the steps, "like what? Last I checked I was the only one here. And Hinata now," he added, nodding toward the shrine.
"But you stole her, didn't you? In the middle of the night, with none of her family to witness. You have to assume someone is looking for her." There was something sly in Sasuke's tone that had Naruto slanting him a warning look. Sometimes Sasuke saw more than even his oldest friends credited him with. Bored with his captivity, he had far too much time to piece his bits of information together into something coherent.
Naruto sighed, "it was a mistake, alright? I thought she knew."
Sasuke laughed softly, a rare sound, but filled with genuine amusement, "you thought a human knew what our vows meant. You are still a deluded idiot."
The retort on Naruto's tongue would have opened a wound that was still raw even years later; he swallowed it down and hummed noncommittally, "she still doesn't know, I haven't had a chance to explain the thread or anything."
"You've had days, but you didn't want to see that she didn't understand when you took her away, and now you don't want to tell her why she has to stay so you're inventing excuses."
"You didn't want to ask Sakura to stay, so you took her robes and kept her here, and now she can't go back," Naruto snapped, genuine anger seething beneath the words. Sakura had pleaded and bargained, called in debts and fought with beings far more ancient and powerful than she to stay at Sasuke's side while he healed. She was one of the best and she knew it, but it had only ever been meant for a temporary measure; earth wasn't kind to celestial beings. Only when her time ran out, her robes had disappeared from her hiding place, and she had been left to stay, disgraced and weakened.
Sasuke, damn him, had never met the quality of mercy in his life; Naruto was sure the robes had been destroyed, a final assurance she couldn't leave him even as he pushed her away and refused to acknowledge their bond. Sakura, the living embodiment of mercy if it existed, had accepted her lot and made of it what she could. She knew sadness, anger, hate and love now, nothing of the celestial left in her but her gift.
"I warned her not to follow me," Sasuke replied simply. It had always been that simple for him. At least Naruto didn't attack him this time; the last time they had truly brawled, both had been months in recovering and Sakura had staunchly refused to speak to either of them the entire time.
"Fuck you," Naruto returned tiredly; this was an argument they had returned to dozens of times and he had no desire to begin again. "She should've plucked you for a feather pillow." She hadn't, quite, but it had been the better part of a decade before his pinions had grown in again, the only way Sakura knew to keep him from escaping while her body adapted to the constant drain on her strength.
Sasuke nudged Naruto's foot aside, making a place for himself on the next step down and arranging his wings to warm them in the dappled light, "she'll be no happier with you for abducting a human."
"I know," Naruto groaned, burying his head in his hands, "but I'm more worried about what Hinata is going to do about it."
"Meaning?" Sasuke sighed quietly, doubtless regretting asking the question already.
"What if she leaves?"
Sasuke froze, eyes flashing back to Naruto, "What did you do this time?"
"We made a deal."
Sasuke sighed heavily, letting his head fall back against the upper step, "You're still so damn soft," another heaving sigh, "How badly have you fucked up?"
"I don't know yet."
"Start at the beginning. Let's go over the terms of your deal."
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It was unnerving being the center of focus for two creatures she wouldn't have believed existed even a few weeks ago. Sakura, a celestial maiden and Ino… "Can I ask- what are you?" She would start with the simple questions, she decided, and work her way up to answering the one Sakura had posed.
"You're sure you want to know?"
Hinata considered, sipping her tea too quickly and wincing as it scalded her throat and tongue, "Yes, I think?"
"A jorougumo," Ino sipped daintily at her own tea, waiting for Hinata's reaction.
With an effort, Hinata kept from startling; jorougumo had been a common threat wielded against both she and her sister. Don't go out at night or you'll be caught in their webs, don't go too far into the forest or a jorougumo will take you. Only now she was taking tea with a childhood nightmare of hers, enjoying her company even, "you aren't what I expected," Hinata offered at last, shifting her weight guiltily. She was sure the shock must have shown on her face.
Ino shrugged, "you don't find me beautiful?"
"You're not frightening."
Ino and Sakura laughed together, smiling at some secret joke Hinata chose not to ask about, just as courtesy kept her from asking Sakura about what she was now that she was no longer a celestial creature. They settled soon enough, blinking tears of mirth from the corners of their eyes and stifling their last snickers.
"Now, a question for a question," Sakura's face was suddenly blank as a canvas, and Hinata unconsciously sat up straighter, schooling her own features into haughty neutrality, "are you sure you're human?"
"I am the first daughter of the Hyuuga, heiress of my clan." For now. The words came out sharper than she intended; an illegitimate son might be welcomed into his father's home for an heir, bastard daughters seldom fared so well. Fear made her sharp, sent the blood rushing to her cheeks as her heart began to pound.
"And you are descended from a purely human bloodline?" Evidently that wasn't the question Sakura had been asking, "you told Naruto there was nothing inhuman about your eyes, but I would remember if I had ever met someone else with eyes like yours."
Hinata opened her mouth, ready to answer with a firm yes, but after a moment's thought she hesitated, "until recently, I wasn't aware there was anything but humans."
"Hm." Ino shifted, "what sort of skill do you have?"
"A question for a question," Hinata retorted, a little archly. Ino looked pleased at her first attempt at the casual banter her guests shared. "What does Naruto want me to see?"
"Your thread," Sakura's matter-of-fact tone suggested the answer should have been obvious, "the ability will come in time, once you've spent enough time among us. But I assumed you must have seen it already or why would you go away with him?"
"A thread." There could only be one thread, one winding red thread that bound people fated to meet together. Or, as some stories said, those fated to marry. "A thread of fate?"
"That shouldn't be one of your questions," Ino said, frustration and confusion stealing across her face, "you wouldn't have followed him if you hadn't known, would you?"
"You didn't know," Sakura broke in, "you were so calm during the wedding. I thought it was impressive, you speaking those vows so soon after meeting. I thought you knew. I thought he had to have explained."
"I think he might have tried," Hinata wet her dry throat with another sip of tea, hurriedly refilling all their cups and settling back again, "today, that is."
Ino hissed, and Hinata's hair pricked, for the first time acutely aware that she was sitting across from a creature known as much for its deadliness as its charm, "so when I told you it would take a lot of study to stay with us comfortably, and you asked if he had told us…" she caught Hinata's gaze, urging her to continue without words.
"I… we have a deal."
"You made a deal with a fox?" Hinata couldn't decide if Sakura's tone was more admiring or despairing, it hovered in some unlikely space between the two. "If you have freely dealt with him then I cannot intercede."
"I didn't ask you to," Hinata answered calmly, oddly defensive. They were protective of her, she knew, the frail human woman caught between demons, celestials and spirits she hadn't credited until now. They only meant well, but she had been coddled and smothered from the cradle. If the time she had spent with Naruto had taught her anything, it was that she wouldn't break as easily as her family, let alone these acquaintances, thought. "I only thought he had told you our bargain. I was surprised; he seems very certain I'm going to lose."
"Oh you will. He has damnably good luck," Ino settled back, "might as well tell us this losing wager you made so we can all laugh about it later."
It was impossible to take offense when the words were spoken with such good humor; it was hard not to feel a spark of trepidation at the assurance in Ino's words and the stark look Sakura was giving her. Either way, she spun the tale out for them from beginning to end, curling her fingers under her legs and doing her best not to look at them. Sakura had introduced a complication she had never expected, and with no reason to lie and every appearance of sincerity Hinata had no reason to doubt it.
Which meant her accidental wedding had not been an accident at all. She shoved the thought to the back of her mind, forcing herself to stay in the present; whatever else she had to say could be said to her husband.
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It was well into the afternoon when Hinata led her guests out of the shrine; Naruto and Sasuke were still perched on the shrine steps, looking for all the world like dogs banished outside their home. On a whim, she reached down to glide a hand across Naruto's head as she descended. He leaned into the caress even as he watched Sakura like a hawk. So. He suspected what they had been discussing. That would make broaching the subject easier.
"You two look comfortable," Sakura commented, pausing beside Sasuke to offer a hand up. He ignored it, but clambered to his feet anyway, shaking out his wings and straightening his clothes.
Hinata drew closer to Naruto, unaccountably threatened by the dark-eyed gaze that swept over her. There was something of Neji in it, when he was at his most superior and contemptuous, sizing her up only to dismiss her. Naruto stood quickly allowing her to interpose him between them without any word from her. He caught her hand behind his back, squeezing as he flashed her a bright smile over his shoulder. She forgot her worry enough to smile back.
"But now the hens have left the roost," Sakura hissed with annoyance, glaring up at Sasuke, who smirked down at her softly; Hinata frowned, the intricacies of their strange bond far beyond her meager understanding.
Ino stretched out, drawing Hinata away from Naruto and closer to her. It took Hinata a second to register that she was being hugged; she tried to return it, stiff and awkward with surprise. Ino snorted, breath ruffling Hinata's hair lightly, "Remember, you agreed to try," she murmured, "don't be a martyr. Sakura can tell you how that ends."
She pulled away, leaving Hinata feeling suddenly bereft, and a little chilled in a way that the warm air could not banish.
Sakura had drawn Naruto into a similar embrace, friendly, comforting… Sasuke stared out over the clearing, but Hinata knew his full attention was on them just as hers was. She read the long familiarity there, remembered the anger in Naruto's voice when he had told her that Sasuke had dragged Sakura down, and she wondered just how she fit among them. There was Sakura, one of his oldest friends, and Sasuke, another he couldn't be parted from.
Now Hinata had a thread that supposedly bound her to him, but at that moment it didn't feel half as strong as the bonds he had woven already.
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Sasuke and she traveled in perfect silence; the forest hardly disturbed by their passing. Sakura had lost her divine gifts, but the skills she had honed over lifetimes still came easily to her and she could move nearly as swiftly as he. Today he pushed her to her limit, always striving to be ahead of her, never at her side neither behind her. Sakura recognized the beginning of a temper; for many years it had been a third presence in their home; Sasuke had learned to keep it in check, at least. Though sometimes she still missed the boy that hadn't been half as practiced at hiding it as he assumed.
Their home was grander than Naruto's shrine, a cluster of buildings built about a pool of water, a trickle of a waterfall supplying it. Sasuke had worked like a creature possessed those first months and years of his captivity, and Sakura had buried herself in work beside him, still numb with the grief and shock of betrayal after finding- or rather not finding- her robes. He had promised her, after all, but for some reason she had never believed him until it was done.
She lived in a separate wing now, joined to his own by a covered walkway built as an afterthought, though both had taken pains to make it seem like a natural add-on. It had been the first sign of the entente between them or at least the first acknowledgment of it. She still lived in her separate wing, but she spent her nights in his. It was still early in the afternoon, too early for either of them to acknowledge their truce. She would have headed straight to her own pavilion only Sasuke barred the way.
"What game are you playing with them?" There was a breath of winter in his voice.
"Not a game. I'm sure Naruto told you about his wager?" Sasuke's silence was all the answer she needed. "Then you know how precarious this whole situation is. I just gave Hinata a friendly nudge; a little jealousy would be good for both of them."
"And for me?"
He caught her shoulder and turned her about, looming over her. Sakura tried to twist away, but it was a half-hearted effort easily stopped when he folded his wings about her in sensual threat.
"Did you think it would end there?"
Sakura tilted back to meet his gaze, no longer pulling away. "There's no reason for you to be jealous. You are my keeper, and I am yours."
"You are mine," Sasuke murmured with a shade of his old darkness, lowering his head to press a soft kiss to her pulse. Sakura's breath stuttered out of her at the contact. They weren't enemies any more. Once Sasuke had looked her in the eye and promised her he would kill her if she followed him. She had felt the truth of it in her bones and followed him anyway. True to his word, he had killed her, after a fashion.
The naive celestial maiden that had followed him to earth was dead and buried with her precious robes. Sakura had made her peace with the woman that had grown from the ashes of her funeral pyre. She curled into Sasuke when his lips moved higher, seeking out her lips. He always lost his facade of indifference here in their mutual prison. She, starved of his affection for so many years, had never taken her fill of it.
"Hinata holds the end of Naruto's thread," she murmured, mouth pressed to his ear. She had held Sasuke's and still he had left her, nearly severing their bond as his brother had done his.
"Don't talk about Naruto," he nipped her in warning, the slightest edge of pain to dull her pleasure. Sakura gave in to her impulse, wrapping her arms about his neck and coaxing him into gathering her up in his arms to carry to their rooms. She still scrabbled for every scrap of affection he would offer her, and at times she could almost loath herself for it, but vice was part and parcel with being and earthly spirit. It was one of the comforts she allowed herself.
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A.N. Two updates in a little over a week? It's more likely than you think! If this chapter felt a little short, it wasn't. It actually comes in a little over 5600, but it is a bridge chapter.
Smut. I'm saying the next chap is cuteness and naughtiness and exactly zero Neji, which I probably won't have it up this week but emI am going to try/em.
I did promise that I would include a list of what sort of creature everyone is, please note that a character appearing in this list may not be a guarantee they're appearing in this fic- I have a couple oneshots planned once this is finished.
That said, in order of appearance (ish)
Naruto: Kitsune/fox
Sasuke: Tengu/crow
Sakura: Celestial maiden (Tennyo) (there's a sort of selkie myth about celestial maidens but we're getting to that)
Ino: Jorougumo (A spider that can take the form of a woman and then lures men away to eat them)
Tenten: Ame onna (I am taking liberties)
Temari/Gaara/Kankuro: Kamaitachi (a sort of wind/twister demon)
Shikamaru: Kage otoko (A shadow you see on a wall or out of the corner of your eye that has no corresponding human. Usually 'kage onna')
/finder/ - this site is a treasure, and this page in particular has a handy tool where you can sort according to type in case you can't remember the name of what you're looking for. I think I found it through a reviewer here but I can't find the review? Unfortunately it does