I'm really pleased that you all enjoyed last chapter's dance scene. Many thanks to those of you who left feedback and a special thank you to first time reviewers. I appreciate the comments, everyone.
Please visit my profile for links to the beautiful music listed under Chapter 30, which I was listening to when writing the scenes below and load/listen to them at the specified points in the chapter. I urge you to hear all of these whilst reading – they build up a lot of atmosphere and make everything seem that extra bit magical.
Listen to the first track once the chariot approaches the eerie, phantom moonlit fields of Asphodel.
The second track accompanies when Sakura turns to face the front of the carriage and asks to leave the Asphodel Meadows. At 1:28 the chariot moves on from Lethe and the faster part of the track plays on for the drive toward the mountains. It lasts until they dismount the chariot in front of the mountain underpass (where the tone of music gets slower and softer – and you can stop it there).
The third begins when they approach the bridge before the waterfall and the interaction that follows it.
The fourth begins when Sakura hears the phantom voices by the pool calling 'Maiden' for the first time.
Play the fifth track when Sasuke holds out his hand to Sakura and they step out of the underpass.
This is an exclusive SasuSaku chapter, with a focus on further relationship development. Enjoy!
Chapter XXX
Take my hand,
And we'll away,
To magical places,
And flowered glades,
Follow me through,
The sacred groves,
Where no living human,
May make their abode,
To stately mountains,
Where rivers flow,
Through ghostly plains,
And caverns that glow,
Until you come upon,
The blessed fields,
Where no mortals go,
And secrets yield.
The unsettling sensation of floating lingered after the funnel of light dispelled, leaving Sakura feeling lightheaded and unsteady. When the world finally stopped revolving enough for her bearings to readjust, she found herself blinking bewilderedly at the sight of four shadowy horses before her, saddled and waiting at attention. One of the magnificent steeds tilted its head back to direct a contemptuous, crimson-eyed glare her way. Sakura gulped as realisation dawned upon her. Sasuke had transported them to his chariot – which meant he was about to take her on another stomach churning, heart pounding ride. Then she became aware of the death deity's hands, which had released her the moment he had sensed her recover, taking hold of the reins, effectively padlocking her in the enclosure of his arms.
Involuntarily, Sakura glanced down at herself. Somehow, somewhere between being whisked out of the ballroom and to the stable area, she had acquired a richly-woven silver cloak. When had Sasuke even managed to obtain and secure it around her shoulders? She was not given the chance to solve that particular mystery, however, for Sasuke was already spurning the smoke-snorting horses forward. The sudden jerk of the carriage's movement caused Sakura to knock back into the Death God, and her heart leapt in alarm. She didn't feel ready for another adrenaline rush, and was not certain she could handle further emotional turbulence. Her mind was still reeling from the blisteringly intimate dance they had shared, and all the head spinning feelings it had unexpectedly elicited, and her jawline still tingled in memory of how his lips had brushed sensuously over her skin.
"Sasuke," she began, unnerved by how quickly things were, quite literally, moving. The stallions had swerved and were swiftly gaining pace, taking a different route to the one Sasuke had guided them along the previous time; one that wound around the palace's perimeter and exited at its front. "Wait- where are we going?"
"You'll see," he replied evasively – and then Sakura was forced to clamp her mouth shut as the air began whistling past them. In what felt like a matter of seconds, the chariot had careened through the palace's glowing, colossal front gates and plunged into the misty haze beyond, before breaking out into another gloomy cavern.
Sakura's watering eyes struggled to make anything out around them as the horses continued to gallop forward at blinding speed, causing their surroundings to stream by in shapeless blurs. She gripped tightly onto the front of the chariot, grateful that Sasuke had seemingly taken at least a little mercy on her overloaded senses this time by not commanding his beasts of burden to fly.
She lost count of how many twists and turns they took and how many torch-lit tunnels they traversed through before the stallions finally seemed to slow down. The ground texture beneath the chariot's sturdy wheels had changed, felt less gravelly. Sakura quickly realised why. They were travelling over dull grassland – and the roof of the cavern had long since vanished behind them, replaced by a limitless, midnight-blue, star scattered sky – complete with – to Sakura's utter astonishment, an actual full moon.
"Is that real?" she questioned uncertainly, tilting her face upwards.
"No," Sasuke answered. "It is an illusion that exists to bring comfort to the souls who dwell here."
The steeds cantered onwards at a leisurely pace. They were moving toward something that was glowing eerily in the horizon, something Sakura couldn't quite identify from their distance.
"What is that?" she wondered aloud curiously, squinting to see more clearly ahead. As the carriage ventured closer, the unexceptional ground beneath them blended into a new landscape, and her eyes widened at the sight that met them. Stretching out before them was a vast, rolling field, with long, slender, grey-green blades of grass that shone beneath the phantom moonlight and rustled in the mild, cool breeze. Sakura sucked the air in, delighting in the welcome change it presented from the cold dampness of the enclosed, inner caverns. Littering the plains were thousands upon thousands of luminous, ghostly white, and pale-amethyst hued flowers. Asphodels, Sakura quickly identified, gazing around them in astonishment as the horses slowed further to a gentle trot. But these blooms were larger and unlike any she had ever seen on the surface.
"The Meadows of Asphodel," Sasuke's voice spoke close behind her, "where ordinary and indifferent souls take rest."
His right hand released its hold on the reins and he reached up, brushing his fingertips lightly over Sakura's eyes before drawing them away again. She gasped as her vision suddenly began to make out insubstantial, semi-transparent figures walking all over the endless fields. Souls. They seemed to be fading in and out of existence. Their faces were expressionless, their movements unhurried. Mechanical.
"What's wrong with them?" Sakura asked, spotting souls of all ages lumbering around in what appeared to be aimless and arbitrary directions.
Sasuke tugged at his steeds to halt and glanced indifferently down at a cluster of stationary spirits, before stating, "All who enter Asphodel leave behind their past identities. They have no memories, nothing to tie them to their previous lives. They exist in neutrality."
"Can't they see each other?" Sakura had noticed the disturbing way the delicate figures seemed to be completely ignoring one other. "Don't they talk?"
"Each soul has a task it believes it must perform," the Death God expanded. "And so it keeps to itself to complete it. But this is also an illusion, to keep them occupied. In reality, they simply wander."
It seemed dreadfully cruel, even with the provided explanation. Sakura felt her eyes sting with pity and her throat close over with compassion as she saw a particularly young boy sway past them. So this was some kind of limbo, the place where people who had committed good and bad deeds in equal measures were sent to dwell after they died; in a hushed, hauntingly beautiful and ethereal meadow, made to believe that they had been assigned an important focus that required undertaking at once – but were, unknowingly, only under the illusion that they were performing it in their heads. In actuality, they spent their time strolling around amidst the asphodel flowers, oblivious to everything and everyone around them.
"They don't eat?" She couldn't quite grasp the concept of wandering ceaselessly without any form of relief.
"Their souls are sustained by the flowers."
"And they never rest?"
"They are already dead."
Sakura shook her head incredulously. How lonely and terrible a fate it seemed! To be bound to such a place – forever.
"But…" she whispered, "that's awful…"
"Their actions in life dictated their fate," Sasuke reminded her unsympathetically.
Sakura didn't know what else to say to that. She supposed it was better than being flung into the fiery pits of hell – if that was indeed what hell was even like - and fell quiet as the dark horses began to trot forward again. But just as they set off, Sakura suddenly caught sight of a pale face amongst the swarm of sceptres surrounding them – and her breath hitched sharply in disbelief. She twisted around to glance behind the chariot, her heart all at once thumping. The soul altered its course, allowing her to glimpse its features more clearly – and then she was leaning over the side of the carriage, struck with a profound sense of grief.
"Mr. Arakawa!" she exclaimed in stunned dismay, glancing at Sasuke before gesturing wildly toward the spirit. "That's Mr. Arakawa!"
Her body was moving instinctively. Even when, deep inside, she already knew it was futile – the man's soul could neither see nor hear her – she still tried to push past Sasuke, to step down onto the field and rush to what remained of her former patient. Because it was difficult to accept that he was there at all, when she had not even been by his side to witness him draw his final breath – when she didn't even know when and how, exactly, he had passed. Tears were burning in her eyes, but Sasuke's strong arms prevented her from dismounting the chariot.
"I need to see him," she said anxiously. "Please, just give me a minute-"
"No, Sakura." She was too upset to pick up the uncharacteristic gentleness of the death deity's tone. "You must not disturb his rest."
"Please!" she pleaded, horrified to find her vision blurring as tears began to spill. Struggling to track the retreating soul's movements, she continued senselessly, "He's my patient – I promised his wife I'd look after him, I promised-"
A hand rested lightly on her left shoulder.
"He is dead."
The words hit her like an icy bucket of water, flung right in her face. She knew it already, of course, had known it the instant she had spied the soul. Sasuke's statement just made the reality all the more irreversible and final. Sakura exhaled, and the chariot stopped again, as the death deity allowed her a few minutes to absorb the news. Mr. Arakawa's spirit had wandered off, and Sakura stared miserably down at her hands, clutching tightly onto the side of the carriage.
After a long silence, she said thickly, "When did he…" she struggled to make herself articulate the words. "When did he pass?"
Sasuke averted his gaze. Distressed that he wasn't going to tell her, Sakura turned to face him fully, and reached out to clutch onto the front of his black tunic.
"Please, Sasuke," she met his eyes directly. "I need to know."
His attention shifted to the small, delicate fingers gripping tightly onto the fabric over his chest. Then he looked into her face, and, after another brief pause, conceded, "Several hours ago."
Sakura swallowed, and bowed her head as a fresh stream of tears fell. Sasuke remained silent while she grieved, making no move to disengage the hand that was still holding onto him. Instead he waited. But when it took longer than he anticipated for her to recollect herself, the death deity was overcome with the foreign and inexplicable need to stem her tears. Because seeing them bothered him for reasons he could not comprehend.
"He passed in sleep," he spoke automatically, without thinking. "Nothing more could have been done."
Sakura's eyes widened as those ten words sank into her ears, and she didn't know what was more shocking; the fact that Sasuke had inadvertently offered some form of comfort – or the instantaneous effect his words had on her. Knowing that she couldn't have done anything more and that her patient had not suffered when he had died somehow made it easier to accept that Mr. Arakawa was gone.
She wiped at her eyes. A part of her was still stricken that she had not been there, after dedicating months of care to the man. Sasuke was responsible for that – but she believed the deity when he'd said that there was nothing else she could have done to save Mr. Arakawa. He had been terminally ill. If she had been there to witness his death, Sakura knew she would have beaten herself up about it a lot more. And if she really wanted to really be a doctor, she would have to get used to the fact that not everybody could be saved – as much as she hated to face up to the unpleasant but unavoidable truth.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why do people have to get sick? Why did gods create illnesses and suffering?"
Sasuke gave her a measuring look, as if he were debating whether or not to answer. Finally, he conceded, "They did not."
Sakura shook her head at him. "I don't understand."
His gaze shifted to the souls wandering past the chariot. "Curiosity. Greed. Sickness was spread through mortal actions." Seeing her become even more perplexed, Sasuke added, "Humans are self-destructive, Sakura."
Something flared across her features. A hint of anger – and Sasuke's interest was immediately snagged as she released his top and gestured around them. "Mr. Arakawa was a good man. He looked after himself! He never hurt anybody. How was his illness his fault?"
Even as she was saying it, Sakura found herself wondering just how good he had to have really been, if he had ended up in the place where indifferent and ordinary souls took rest. It was unnerving, to think that she had really known so little about Mr. Arakawa and the kind of life he had led behind closed doors, prior to submitting to terminal illness. Sasuke, in stark contrast, obviously knew every secret, every detail – and had judged accordingly.
"The actions of his predecessors have caused mortal bodies to weaken over time and become less resilient," said Sasuke.
Sakura opened her mouth to argue that it wasn't fair, that gods ought to have stepped in at some point in the timeline to mend the damage caused – but the more she weighed Sasuke's words, the more she realised that she had no right to question him on the matter. He was the deity of death. The matters of the living were clearly none of his concern, and he had already told her that gods were not responsible for allowing sickness to spread. It was human avarice and curiosity that had permitted diseases to multiply. Suddenly, it all made horrible sense to Sakura. New bacteria and mutating viruses were being discovered all the time. People were over-reliant on medication, medication that often had adverse effects on the body. Only a fool could deny it. The surface life that she had lived carried much suffering and strife. The wars, the constant conflicts over power, countries fighting it out to hoard the greatest amount of resources, humans killing each other in cold blood and destroying nature… Sasuke was right. Every mortal was born with free will, and the tendency of people to self-destruct was well documented throughout history.
A light touch at her left cheek prompted her lowered, saddened eyes to lift to the Death God again.
"All humans are curious," he said quietly, his fingertips lingering pointedly in place as he held her gaze. Something stirred inside Sakura. She knew he was referring to her own desire to obtain more knowledge about him and the Underworld. Her anger waned, and she averted her head, prompting Sasuke's hand to retract.
"I'm sorry," she sniffled dejectedly at length, apologising for her earlier outburst. "I just- it's a shock. I looked after him for so long, and I wanted to be there when-" She bit her lower lip to stop the remainder of the sentence from emerging. Hesitating, she altered, "Will he be alright here?"
Sasuke nodded, and Sakura inhaled deeply - before turning back around to face the front of the chariot. She didn't want to stay in the eerie fields any longer.
"Can we go on?" she asked softly.
Sensing her need to leave, Sasuke tugged immediately on the reins. Releasing deafening neighs, the steeds galloped onwards, bearing toward the right. The lumbering shapes of souls became ghostly streaks as the chariot tore through the vast meadow. Sakura briefly closed her eyes, losing herself to the sensation of the wind rippling through her hair, and the lingering sorrow of learning Mr. Arakawa's fate. At least he was in no more pain, she told herself. At least he would be able to rest in Asphodel, where he could feel no regrets. It was more upsetting for those who lived on and clung to the past, she acknowledged, than for the blissfully ignorant souls themselves.
The plains seemed like they went on forever, until the carriage finally neared a wide river that glistened brilliantly in the spectral moonlight. Sakura was taken by its incredible clarity, and pointed toward it.
"What is that?" she asked Sasuke, over the howling of air and the pounding of iron hooves.
"A small section of Lethe," the death deity murmured, angling the reins to slow the steeds briefly down again. "The River of Forgetfulness."
If what she was seeing was small, Sakura had no idea how immense the river had to be in its total volume and area.
"Forgetfulness?" she echoed. The way the surface of the water shimmered was hypnotising. Sakura had a strange and baffling urge to get out of the carriage and inspect it more closely – but Sasuke's steadfast arms around her made it apparent that he had no intention of allowing her to dismount.
"All who drink from its waters forget their past lives."
Water that induced amnesia… what next?
Sakura exhaled dubiously. "That really works? How much do they have to drink to forget?"
"A mouthful for every year lived."
Was that how the souls who dwelled in the Asphodel Meadows forgot about their earthly lives, then? Did they have to drink from this river prior to entering? Sakura's question lodged in her throat when she glimpsed an enormous and elaborately carved grey boat travelling slowly downstream, to their left. She had never seen it before. It drew to a silent stop by the riverbank and she watched, fascinated, as a flood of souls floated out and landed onto the shores of Asphodel. Immediately they began to roam deeper into the fields. The boat then pulled away to continue its silent journey downstream.
It all seemed remarkably organised – and extraordinarily surreal.
The chariot was moving again, straight toward the water's edge. To Sakura's astonishment, a glowing, arched silver bridge formed over the river's surface as the horses touched down, allowing them to pass freely over, before the temporary crossing vanished instantly behind them. Then they were travelling on the other side of the river, and the grass here was remarkably different. Instead of being an ashen, pale grey-green, the tips of the lush, healthy green blades glinted with tiny specks of gold, and luminous butterflies of various hues flittered prettily about. Sakura wasn't given a chance to dwell on how wonderful that was, though, for Sasuke was urging his steeds onwards towards looming, jagged white structures overhead. Sakura's eyes fell upon intermittent, milky trees which began appearing in the landscape ahead of them, becoming denser and clustering to form a luminous band of forest as they drew nearer.
She was overwhelmed by an incredible sense of life as graceful, exotic birds squawked and flapped by them, their feathers lustrous and unnaturally glossy. Regal stags with solid gold antlers lifted their heads from the grass, their large, dark eyes keenly tracking the chariot's route. Sakura gasped in surprised delight, a little of her previous woe diminishing, when she spotted does with their young, also grazing. Her mind struggled to process that she was seeing surface animals at all. They resembled deer she had seen in wildlife parks – yet somehow they were different, too. There were golden flecks in their coats, and their gazes were brighter. How she longed to reach out and touch a little fawn! But the carriage was fast approaching the magnificent mountain range, which extended further than the eye could see on both sides. Sakura found herself gaping at the concept of underground mountains, and how they could equal the majesty of surface peaks. The chariot entered into the gleaming forest that grew directly before it. The twinkling trees around them passed in a glittering blur as the horses thundered through the enchanted woodland, following a silvery path on the ground, which brought them right up to the beautifully carved mouth of the underpass leading beneath the mountains.
The chariot drew to a smooth, rolling stop before a pair of colossal, ivory doors, bearing the red and white fan insignia, formed from what looked to be thousands of tiny glimmering diamonds and garnets. Sasuke stepped out of the carriage and assisted Sakura down, before telepathically instructing his horses to wait in place. Sakura turned her attention to the impressive doors and ran her fingers lightly over the swirling silver, leafy designs adorning it.
Then, with her eyes fixed on the crest, she remarked, "That emblem. It's the same one in your palace."
Sasuke glanced up at it, then at the back of her pale coral head. And he hesitated despite himself. After she had left him back at the palace, he had mulled broodingly over her words, and, irritated that she had gotten to him once again, had made his way to the restored shrine room, where he had stood before the portrait hung on the back wall, as if the silent faces painted on the canvas could provide him with the answers he so desperately sought. He had remained there for a long time, carefully contemplating which actions to take next.
He had already decided that confronting Chiyo about the reasons behind her unanticipated disclosure to Sakura would prove to be a useless waste of valuable time – as much as he wanted to know just what the old hag was playing at by revealing things so uncharacteristically. Then it had occurred to him that Sakura was actually beginning to question why she had been raised in ignorance – and that worked to his advantage, provided him with a way of potentially getting her to reconsider whether she wanted to leave his Kingdom at all.
If he told her the truth, where others had told her only lies, surely she would grow to trust him more and willingly lower her defences to him? It was already happening - slowly but gradually. His touch was starting to affect her – and Sakura was becoming increasingly aware of it, too. He had seen visible proof on more than one occasion.
But if he revealed things about her own upbringing – and the real nature of those she considered closest to her – he would also be required to share things about his own past in turn. Because, whether he liked it or not, they were all tied by what had happened back then.
It was largely the reason why he had not decided to raise the issue with her earlier. He was still uncertain of much he was prepared to reveal to Sakura, how much he really wanted her to know about him. What would it change between them, if he chose to enlighten her? Would she be more open? More understanding? Or would she reject the things he told her pertaining to her mother and the others? Frustration had clawed inside his chest, wearing his already tried patience precariously thin. What if it changed nothing?
Eras of being alone in the shadows, with only the bitterness, hatred and regret of his memories for company had hardened Sasuke's heart to black stone, and made him suspicious and untrusting of everyone and everything. Those negative feelings reflexively extended to Sakura, too – despite his conflicting desire for closeness with her. Even when she had done little wrong – her yearning for the surface was not a crime; it was to be expected. He couldn't make her forget what had been a fundamental part of her existence for eighteen years prior to her abduction. But pushing her away and shunning her every time she asked too much, he had begrudgingly acknowledged, was perhaps not the best way of making her less eager to leave his side, either.
And so he had arrived at the unavoidable conclusion. Permitting Sakura to gain more knowledge would mean that he would have to assign a measure of trust and faith in her – trust and faith that she could handle secrets not intended to be known by mortals - and would not abuse them. It would be difficult for him to lower his guard when he had forgotten how to do it – when his memories of individuals he had trusted in the past were tarnished by the twisted, poisonous blade of betrayal.
The death deity's eyes had then come to rest on a crimson pair of irises in the painting, and he had swallowed back the resentment in his throat.
There were some things he knew he could never tell her. But perhaps, in time, he could show her. And when he had happened to come upon her in the ballroom, where he had been powerless to look away from her beauty and mesmerised by the light she exuded, Sasuke had made up his mind, once and for all. He would acquiesce to her wishes to learn more. He would take her to the place where all souls were revealed for what they were truly worth, and allow her to see things no other living mortal had ever been permitted to see – and then he would take his payment. He would bind her to him and his realm and use any ruse necessary to get her to willingly ingest the Food of the Dead.
Sasuke blinked out of his recollections, and decided that he would disclose fragments – and gauge Sakura's reactions closely. If she proved loyal and worthy, he would give her more. If she did not…
Severing the remainder of the dark thought, he uttered, "Uchiha."
Sakura frowned lightly at the door in front of her. "Huh?"
After another lengthy pause, Sasuke said emphatically, "The crest."
Sakura glance over her shoulder at him in confusion – that was what the emblem was called? But she already knew it was a fan – oh. Her brain did a double-take, causing her eyes to widen as she looked back at the insignia. Sasuke had just said Uchiha - not uchiwa.
Her lips parted. Had he just... had he just given her his family's name?
Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha.
It sounded so… right, somehow. Imperial and imposing. And for a god who was as reserved as Sasuke was, who never divulged anything about himself, Sakura realised it was a ground-breaking revelation.
She was struck by the fact that deities kept family names, too. It seemed like such a normal, human concept. But then, why wouldn't they? She had already learnt that they possessed mothers and fathers. And they had created humans in their likeness, after all.
"Sasuke-" She began to turn to him, but he was already brushing past her, the heavy doors opening at his silent command. Without hesitating, she followed after him, taking an immediate set of pale grey marble steps that led them straight down into another cave-like structure. It glowed with ethereal silver light and sparkled with millions of tiny, precious stones. Diamonds, Sakura suddenly recognised, gazing around them in ill-concealed wonderment. The walls and low roof above them glittered with incredible light, and her eyes were utterly captivated.
Was this one of the diamond caverns Sasuke had mentioned to her before? She trailed silently after the death deity, too awed to speak lest the enchanting vision around her dispelled. Eventually the rocky passage widened and they reached another marble staircase, with two golden torches stationed at its base – except these steps climbed upwards. Each set of six steps was separated by a small, twin-torch illuminated landing, which continued up to the next set.
When they finally reached the top and stepped out into a much more spacious, circular cavern, Sakura released another thrilled gasp.
Diamonds twinkled in the dimness around them like playful stars. Everywhere she looked, everywhere she turned – the place was brimming with them. Pale-blue waterfalls gushed down the centre of the far left and right walls. But as impressive and otherworldly as the sight was, it blanched in comparison to what Sasuke was leading her toward next.
A stunning, white-marble breezeway had been erected in the middle of the ginormous cavern, acting as a bridge which provided safe passage over the yawning, plummeting chasm surrounding it. It boasted a total of sixteen fluted, perfectly aligned Corinthian columns, their intricate capitals decorated with slender golden leaves and glimmering, silver stars. A protective parapet enclosed the sides of the bridge, formed from exquisitely carved, swirling balustrades. A gently arching roof crowned the striking structure, its underside richly painted to reflect a gorgeous, diamond-strewn midnight sky.
As Sakura stepped onto the breezeway, she felt the air flee her lungs. It provided a perfect view of the waterfalls, and she didn't know which way to look first. She drifted instinctively to the right, and came to a stop in the middle of the bridge between two widely spaced columns, where she rested her hands on the flat surface coping of the balustrade enclosure, which reached half-way up her stomach.
Slowly, Sakura released the breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. The view was spectacular; the Underworld, she was finding, kept pleasantly surprising her. Time seemed to suspend then, as she gazed out at the sparkling waterfall, losing herself to the moment and the soothing sound of cascading water. Sasuke stood beside her, his body angled slightly toward her as he stared at the vision of splendour before them, briefly allowing himself to submit to the memory of the last time he had stood in the very same spot, next to a different, darker haired female – and, despite his best attempts at preventing it, felt a familiar, twinging ache tugging deep inside him.
For a long time they looked on in silence – but it was not an uncomfortable one.
"It's so beautiful," said Sakura softly. Withdrawing from her distracted state at last, she glanced involuntarily at Sasuke, who looked like he was lost in his own contemplations. And she was overcome, at that moment, by how very solemn and distant he looked. What was he thinking? Then she became aware of how close they were standing – and how oddly at ease both of their postures were. It was strange, Sakura thought, directing her gaze back to the waterfall, but for just a little while, she had forgotten that she was standing next to Death at all.
Sakura raised a hand and ran her fingers over the grooved column directly to her left. "This bridge is magnificent. Did you build it?"
A pause. And then the short response, "No."
"Oh," said Sakura, following one indentation with her index finger. She searched her mind for something else to say – anything to stop another silence from falling between them – but it was difficult to sustain a conversation alone. Just as she was beginning to despair when quiet began to infringe upon them once more, Sasuke surprised her by speaking again, and his voice had lost its flat edge.
"It was a gift." Another lengthy pause, before he added even more quietly, "For the Underworld's last Queen."
Sakura's finger froze in position. Then she blinked, and looked back at the death deity. Sasuke's eyes were no longer on her. They were gazing down at the flat coping – and his left hand had lifted to rest lightly on it. She couldn't read the expression on his face. But something about his shift in posture caused something to stir deep inside her.
"Your mother," the near-whispered words tumbled from Sakura's lips before she could even process them. Somehow she knew it with certainty. Had the previous King – Sasuke's father – made this for his Queen? The notion was a terribly romantic one, and made earthly gestures between sweethearts, like flowers and chocolates, appear wanting in comparison.
She found herself pondering whether Sasuke had stood next to his mother in the same position they were standing in now. And what it meant that he had chosen to allow her the honour of walking on the bridge, too. That was when she saw it. Something she would have missed altogether had she blinked at that moment - the sudden tension that weighed on Sasuke's brow, which vanished almost immediately, replaced by an expression of utter indifference. His silence only confirmed Sakura's words, but she wasn't given the opportunity to say anything else. Wordlessly, Sasuke stepped away from the balustrade, indicating that it was time to leave – much to Sakura's disappointment.
"Come," he clipped. With one final, wistful glance back at the waterfall – for she would have loved to stay longer - Sakura obediently followed him, and all she could wonder was, how close had Sasuke been to his mother?
The other side of the breezeway brought them to an identical set of steps that led down to yet another wide, diamond encrusted tunnel, which eventually expanded to form a larger underground structure consisting of rocky walls that glowed with alternating hues of light blue and turquoise, and housed a rippling, crystal clear pool in its centre. A long stone bridge allowed safe passage over it, and as they walked toward it, Sakura felt her curiosity and anticipation heighten. Where was Sasuke taking her next? She was eager to find out.
'Maiden.'
Sakura halted abruptly when she heard a sudden whisper in her head. She glanced behind her, but there was nothing there. Shrugging it off as a figment of her overstimulated imagination, she made to follow after Sasuke, who had reached the bridge – when she heard it once again.
'Maiden…'
"What?" she exclaimed aloud. Sasuke stopped, and turned to glance back at her with an eye-brow questioningly raised. When only silence governed, a sheepish Sakura gestured vaguely into the air. "Nothing. I thought I heard something."
Sasuke scowled and then motioned with his head for her to follow him. No sooner had he turned away again, Sakura heard the whispers once more. At first she couldn't make out what they were saying. But the more closely she listened, the more the words being uttered – and the voices speaking them - became intelligible.
Breathy, female tones, hissing yet oddly riveting, rich and echoing. Some were singing sensuously, whilst others gently insisted that she listen to them. Sakura slowed on the bridge as a peculiar sensation suddenly began to crawl over her, causing her skin to prickle as if she were standing beside a giant, ionising magnet. And the more she focused on what the sweet voices were saying, the faster her heart began to pound.
'Hear ussss…'
'Desssire…'
'You desssire…'
'A king of kingssss…'
What…? Sakura thought, alarm rooting her to the spot, her head snapping around in an attempt to source the sounds. Who's saying that…?
But the voices did not respond to her question. Instead they whispered and hummed seductively on.
'The lasssst of hisss kind…'
'He will crown you in leavessss of gold…'
'And clothe you in gowns of silk…'
'Hear ussss, maiden.'
'Hear your calling…'
'Give in… give in to the darknesssss…'
'For Death desiressss you…'
'And you desssire Death…'
'Give in… give in…'
'Give in to the sweetesssst pleasssure…'
The echoes were incessant, buzzing. Sakura's initial horror was quickly washed away as the whispers and phantom singing continued, seeping into her blood and becoming more potent until they overrode all logical thought processes and took absolute command of her senses. Her brain was overcome and her vision began to warp and tunnel in, until all she could see was the Uchiha emblem stitched onto Sasuke's back. And that was when it hit her - like an unstoppable hurricane. A profound and inexplicable need that she could not fathom, that gripped her in a vice-like hold that left her entire body quivering but unable to escape.
She wanted him. The acknowledgement smacked into her like a crippling blow to the chest, leaving her breathless, devastated. She couldn't comprehend the abrupt intensity of such a need, but at that moment, she had never wanted anything as much as Sasuke.
'Yesss…'
Throaty giggles reverberated all around her.
'Yesss…'
'You want him…'
'You need him…'
'Go to him…'
'Closer… closer…'
'This way…'
More velvety laughter, coaxing her into looking away from Sasuke and toward the rippling pool. She saw golden eyes, peering through from underneath. Beautiful, pale faces, long wisps of hair belonging to inhuman, mischievous entities.
Sensing that Sakura had fallen behind again, Sasuke turned in annoyance – to find her staring unseeingly into the water. With no manner of warning whatsoever, she swayed unsteadily on her feet – and toppled straight over the side of the bridge. The death deity's eyes widened in alarm and he uncharacteristically faltered, caught wholly off-guard by her dazed state.
"Sakura-!"
He flash-stepped forward, grabbing her trailing left arm before she could plummet into the liquid depths below. Yanking her backward and falling onto the bridge with her locked safely in his arms, he began to hiss, "What are you-" and froze at the feel of delicate hands creeping slowly and tentatively up his shoulders. Glazed green eyes clashed with onyx, and Sasuke's breath hitched when her fingers began to wade into his raven hair. There was a look in her irises that he had never seen before, one that set his pulse hurtling. Sakura was breathing rapidly, looking afraid and pained and oddly willing all at once.
"I…" she started to whisper. It seemed like she couldn't manage anything else, like she was struggling to speak at all.
There was no clarity in her face. Something had ensnared her. Sasuke's head whipped around, and he had to resist the incredible temptation to succumb to the insistent tugging of Sakura's hands, which were trying to turn his face back toward her – even when he wanted nothing more than to crush her to him and devour her lips. But not when she was not in control of her own mind. He glimpsed impish, retreating faces in the waters, and glared furiously down at them.
Underworld sirens, he realised, who roamed from pool to pool and whose serenading attempts at seduction went unheard by gods, had called to Sakura. They were the most malicious incarnations of sirens and fed off lustful emotions, and – unlike their surface counterparts – did not limit their appetites to male victims alone. What bewitching words had they whispered? From the clouded look in Sakura's eyes, and the way she was clinging onto him so breathlessly, Sasuke didn't need to guess.
He opened his mouth to snap at them to leave Sakura be, but when her head suddenly tilted, he was immediately distracted by her proximity and how delectably soft she felt pressed against him.
The breathy laughter and singing were continuing in her mind, a sinful symphony of sensuality that urged her to jerk Sasuke's head around forcefully and do what her body was now convinced it had been wanting to do for a very, very long time. But a small part of Sakura's consciousness still lingered in the vacuum that had taken over her brain, and was watching on in abject horror at what her treacherous hands were doing. It was protesting at the closeness, even when the other voices were drowning it out, telling her that it felt pleasurable to be held by Sasuke. She could feel the hardness of his muscles around her, and his warmth made her want to stop resisting, to yield and relax…
No, she thought, fighting to break out of the mental cage that she had been flung into. It was as though her body had taken over her mind, was acting on auto-pilot, of its own accord. No. She struggled and wrestled and mentally screamed to regain control. But every time she tried, she was forced back by overwhelmingly domineering feelings of yearning. Sasuke had turned his head back, and his eyes were on her lips. As if caught in a trance. She could feel his heart pounding as much as she knew he could feel hers. Tension plagued his brow, as if he were having a tremendously difficult time trying to detach her arms from him. As if he didn't really want to push her away. She became distantly aware of his hands, and how tightly they were now gripping onto her cloak.
"Sakura…" his voice broke out as little more than a strained whisper.
He wasn't even trying to remove her anymore. The urge to tilt her face up toward him and to yank his head down was overpowering-
Stop! Sakura panicked, and with a mighty surge of mental strength, roared at her arms to retract. STOP! To her utter astonishment and great relief, her limbs obeyed – and the sinful spell, along with the lingering voices, instantly dispelled. With a jolt she jerked back, pushing at Sasuke to release her.
He did – just about - but his jaw was clenched, and his hands had closed to form tight fists. For a long moment they sat awkwardly, inclined away from one another. Sakura could feel her cheeks burning, and half-wished she could die at that very moment. Her blush further increased when she realised that Sasuke could probably hear such a wish – since it related to death. Her suspicion was only exacerbated when he tossed an unreadable, dark glance her way.
What had happened? She had a nagging suspicion that sirens, or similar water-based creatures, were responsible – she remembered falling under their melodious spell before. Hadn't the Death God warned her once before about not heeding their call? But hadn't Sasuke killed all the sirens in the Underworld? Unless the ones she had heard were a different species. Suddenly she didn't care what kind of monsters they had been. She knew from the tenseness of Sasuke's reaction that he'd had no hand in what had happened – which made the unexpected eagerness of her body's response all the more terrifying. She shuddered to think what might have transpired had she somehow not managed to summon the willpower to boot the intruding voices out of her head.
It had been a spell, Sakura told herself fiercely, even when her heart-rate refused to settle. The voices had temporarily taken over her mind and made her do it. She had allowed the creatures to weave a web over her senses. Next time – not that she would ever allow herself to be caught unprepared again - she would be ready.
Finally, the death deity rose to his feet. "Get up," he ordered stiffly, making a point of avoiding further eye-contact.
Shakily she did so, and followed after him, kicking a stray stone indignantly into the water as she fumed down at the now unoccupied depths. Perfect. As if she needed any more reasons to act uneasily in the death deity's presence. She remained absolutely silent as they walked on, her body tense, expecting another unpleasant trap to spring itself onto her. Was everything in the Underworld plotting to make a complete fool of her? But the irritation she could feel coiling from Sasuke's form was like a warning to any other inquisitive, supernatural spirits and creatures lurking about. It emphatically told them to back off, and Sakura wisely paced herself, allowing a greater distance to fall between them. She was troubled, however, by just how long it took to banish lingering sensations of jitteriness from her body.
At length they came to another long set of straight, marble steps leading upwards. Sakura climbed after the death deity, and when they reached the top and stepped into yet another spacious, strangely breezy cavern, Sakura's eyes widened in wonder once again, her previous embarrassment dwindling as her thoughts were firmly directed elsewhere. Flowered, butterfly-populated, silvery vines covered the walls, and ahead of them, heralding the exit to the underground passages, was a heavy curtain made of leaves, through which glinted…
Sakura's breath lodged in her throat. Something gold was shining through the vines. It almost looked like… it almost looked like sunlight! Thrown, she glanced uncertainly at Sasuke, to find the death deity regarding her intently. His shoulders had relaxed again, as if walking at a distance from her had helped to clear his own mind from the discomfort of what had befallen them in the siren-populated cave.
"The fields ahead are sacred," he stated pointedly.
Sakura nodded, not quite sure why her heart was starting to pound again. Maybe it was the way Sasuke was looking at her – as if he were coming to some sort of fundamental decision. Or maybe a part of her was afraid of what she was on the verge of seeing – something that was surely forbidden to the living's eyes.
After a brief interlude of silence, the Death God walked forward and stopped before the leafy curtain. Blinking, he extended his left hand back to her. The breeze that rippled through the gaps in the vines was fresh and fragrantly sweet. It called to Sakura's senses, whispering of wonderful secrets that lay in waiting beyond, enticing her closer. Compelled, she moved, reaching out to place her right hand in Sasuke's. It was impossible to ignore how his touch made her skin tingle, and she was thankful for an excuse not to dwell on it when he pulled her gently forward, the flowered curtain parting effortlessly at his command – and what Sakura saw beyond it surpassed anything she had looked upon in the Underworld yet.
Light. Golden light, incredible and so blinding that at first she squinted, her vision overcome by its sheer brilliance. When everything finally adjusted, she forgot all about breathing.
Green fields, lush and brimming with life, rolled out farther than her eyes could see. Hilltops loomed in the horizon, and the entire plain was littered with fruit-abundant trees and endless varieties of flowers, over which fluttered luminous butterflies. The sky was a beautiful, limitless, cloudless blue. Rainbow coloured birds with shimmering wings streaked through the air, singing melodiously, and the sound of laughter echoed distantly somewhere ahead of them.
"Oh," Sakura exhaled weakly, her brain struggling to process what she was seeing. It outdid any type of field she had ever seen on the surface. Everything was so much more vivid, so utterly and delightfully perfect. It was like… it was like she had just stepped straight into paradise.
"What is this place?" she dared to whisper. When they had stepped through the underpass's exit, her fingers had closed around Sasuke's hand in a subconscious gesture that sought to anchor her to the only thing that seemed remotely real at that moment. Catching herself, Sakura allowed her digits to loosen again – and the death god saved her any further discomposure by relinquishing his hold.
"The Elysian Fields," he replied. "Where the righteous dwell after death."
So it really was paradise. Sakura turned her face up to the sky. A brilliant sphere shone high up within it, mimicking the sun in brightness. But she already knew it wasn't really the sun. It couldn't be. It was no doubt another illusion, just as the moon had been in Asphodel – but it didn't change the fact that the warmth radiating from it felt so very real. And it made her yearning heart realise just how much she had been missing the surface. She wanted to bask in it, to feel the imitation heat soaking through her pores, into her sun-starved cells.
It was difficult to believe that she wasn't back on land, when her eyes were communicating to her brain otherwise. Clogged with emotion, Sakura drifted from Sasuke's side and ventured forward, her fingers trailing through the long blades of grass as she inhaled the wonderful scents and gazed out at the impossibly rich landscape before her.
This is… she thought, overawed and shamed by how very unworthy she felt to even tread in such a place. And yet Sasuke had permitted her to enter heaven.
Her pulse escalated further at the undeniable connotations of being allowed such a privilege.
All at once the laughter sounded closer, and she glanced back, catching her breath again as she glimpsed figures that seemed so tangible and real, running up behind her. People of all ages passed her, their faces glowing with blessed light, smiling joyously in the imposter-sunshine. They were clothed in white and gold, flowing gowns and light tunics, bare-footed, wearing garlands of flowers around their necks and heads. Some were playing instruments – wooden flutes and small harp-like string instruments, whilst others were carrying flowing ribbons of various hues, attached to slender wooden sticks.
Sakura blinked in surprise when she felt a firm tug at her cloak, causing the fabric to slip away. Before she could wonder how it had happened, a laughing blonde-haired child suddenly snagged her right hand, her little fingers closing firmly and tugging Sakura forward with surprising strength. Sakura tossed an alarmed glance back at Sasuke, to find more figures reverently bowing their heads as they passed the Death God. He met her gaze and nodded once, in silent permission for her to follow the running child's course.
She did, an emotion bubbling in her heart that she had not felt for a long time. Something warm and fuzzy and gold. Happiness, she realised, as the hazel-eyed child drew to a stop and picked a yellow narcissus flower, holding it up to Sakura with a jubilant smile on her cherub-like features.
"Maiden! Maiden!" Voices chanted around her. She turned to find more children surrounding her, little boys and girls who were eagerly holding out bundles of flowers. Each infantile face was sweeter than the other, and Sakura felt her eyes watering. How was it that she could feel them? Weren't they spirits too?
"For me?" she whispered, bending down to allow an adorable, brown, curly-haired little boy to string a flower garland around her neck.
He grinned shyly back, said something in a language she could not understand, and with a wave, bounded off toward a smiling woman.
His mother? Something about the way the woman was standing amongst the flowers tugged at something deep within Sakura. She thought of her own mother, and her throat choked over further. Then the little boy and the lady were gone.
After offering their gifts, the remainder of the children scattered, and a light brush of fingertips at her left elbow drew Sakura's attention back to Sasuke, who had caught up to her. He read the unspoken question in her eyes, and explained, "The righteous have their bodies restored and live on eternally in these fields – in perfected forms of the shells they vacated at death."
It made sense. Sakura shook her head in awe as she looked around again. "This place is so beautiful. I could never-" she broke off, suddenly realising what it was she had been about to say. I could never be good enough to make it here. Ducking her head guiltily, she allowed her eyes to fall to the fantastic array of blooms growing around her.
"Can I-" she hesitated again. "Please may I stay here for a while? Just a little. I know it's not the surface, but…" her voice trailed off, and she felt stupid for asking. She didn't even deserve to be standing in paradise. Surely she was just being greedy, wanting to stay for longer in a place where she decidedly did not belong?
But Sasuke seemed to understand her need to remain in bright light, for he nodded his consent, and was caught off guard when Sakura did something he had not been expecting. She gave him a smile so achingly lovely that he felt his heart physically skip a beat – an alien sensation that unsettled him greatly – and in that very instant, he saw the true extent of just how much she was missing her home.
It caused a strange and foreign bitterness he did not like to deposit itself at the back of his throat.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, quietly – before turning away to stroll through the grass. He followed her, taking sentry by the shade of the tree Sakura chose to stop under. As she settled down beneath it, and proceeded to contentedly arrange flowers around her, he sat a carefully measured distance from her, far enough to give her space, but close enough to keep an eye on what she was doing.
An odd feeling began to creep over him as he watched her. She drew him in like nothing else ever had, and how he wanted her. She was revelling in the warmth that beamed down from the illusionary sphere in the sky – but she could not possibly know that her presence, her closeness, had the same effect on him. It was perplexing and maddening and yet she was like an intoxicating drug, to which he was hopelessly addicted. He never tired of her, for gazing upon her was like looking at a burst of light that illuminated the cold gloominess of the Underworld. He craved for everything about her. He wanted her radiance, her warmth, her energy, and whatever else it was she harboured within her. He wanted it all. And he hoped he was on the verge of understanding exactly why she compelled him so, at last.
They only had one more river to cross before they entered the Blessed Isles. Sasuke felt his pulse beginning to quicken. What would the light of Elysium reveal to him? What would he see? What if he saw nothing at all?
Sakura was creating her own pretty garland out of the flowers she had been gifted, humming to herself as her deft fingers worked to lace flowers stems together.
What exactly was he expecting to see? The most disconcerting thing was, for all his godly wisdom, he was still uncertain.
Sasuke was staring again. Sakura could feel the heat of his gaze, and did her best to bear it. It was probably a good idea to make conversation, she told herself. They couldn't very well remain sitting in silence. And since he had clearly considered her earlier words and consented to show her more of his world – and to share small fragments about himself – Sakura knew it was the least she could do to return the gesture.
"I always thought that heaven was in the sky. It's weird, how wrong I've been about so many things." Sakura paused as she created a small incision with the nail of her thumb and inserted another flower stem through another. She wanted so much to ask Sasuke about why she had never been taught the history and timeline he hailed from – but was afraid she would be pressing for too much information, too soon. She had to play her cards carefully, and the wisest move would be to keep the focus away from posing Sasuke with any further personal questions.
"It… pleases you."
She blinked at the words, spoken slowly, as if testing for her response and her heart gave an unexpected flutter. Was Sasuke seeking her opinion or approval, in his roundabout way, or was he simply stating what he had observed to be a fact?
"Yes," she answered softly. Paradise – The Elysian Fields – pleased her very much. How could it not? Distractedly, she went on, "If I had a little garden that was even remotely like this, I'd be very happy." Her fingers paused again in their work as she processed what she had just said. "I mean," she altered hastily, "it's not like anything can ever compare to this place. I really can't believe I'm actually sitting here."
I'm babbling. Just shut up now, Sakura scolded herself. She had no way of knowing that Sasuke didn't want her to be quiet. In fact, quite the opposite was true; without him even acknowledging it, he wanted her to keep talking, to listen to the soothing sweetness of her voice.
And he had been listening particularly attentively to her disclosure of a desire to have her own garden like it.
"I've always liked flowers," Sakura, as usual, did not heed her own advice, and continued to talk idly on. Did Sasuke even want to know more about her? He had certainly never bothered to ask. But it occurred to her that it was not the death deity's style to do such a thing, anyway. Maybe he did want to know – and had been waiting for her to offer. Encouraged by this train of thought, she expanded, "I wanted to be a florist, once." Examining what she had created so far, she wrinkled her nose, and pouted in recollection, "But my mother always told me I was far too clever to settle for that. She said it hadn't ever brought anyone any good in the past. I never understood that. Ino's parents make lots of money, selling flowers to clients."
"…" Sasuke watched her hands. Her precision and skill suggested expertise in weaving wreathes, and he had seen her do it often on the surface. How had she first gotten into flowers? Curious to know, but far too proud to ask, he turned his face away, staring grimly at the idyllic scenes around them. Unlike Sakura, he was accustomed to the Elysian Fields, and their beauty did not faze him.
"Sasuke?" Her voice drew his attention back to her. "What's it like? Being a god?"
The death deity pondered the question. He had never really considered what it was like – he fulfilled the duty that had been prematurely passed down to him with little thought and feeling. It had become second-nature to him. When he had first ascended the Underworld's throne, he had been anything but willing – but time's flow had resulted in him accepting and bearing the fate of his father and forefathers.
Still, Sakura's innocent query gave him pause. What was it like, being immortal? He had lived throughout the ages, seen the world change more times than he liked to remember, and judged an innumerable amount of souls. He had kept company alone, in the shades, keeping out of the affairs of the living, bound to his kingdom and forbidden to venture to the surface for extended periods, unless his visit related to the dead – although he had manipulated the sanctions placed upon him when it came to Sakura. He had been feared and worshipped and then forgotten, relegated from god to angel to a mere inevitable concept in the minds of mortals.
What was it like, living forever, doing the same thing day in, day out, losing all track of time and how much of it passed, until everything became monochrome and one forgot just what it was like to actually live? Because Sasuke did not live for himself - he lived as the King of the afterlife. His role afforded him great powers – but he could never escape the responsibility that came with it.
"It is endless."
Sakura glanced at him. He was gazing at an unspecified point ahead of him, and there was something different about his tone. She could not quite put her finger on what. When he did not expand, she prompted, "But it must be great. You never worry about getting sick or dying. You get to live forever. You can do anything."
She didn't see one corner of his mouth – the side of his profile not exposed to her – tilt in bitter irony at her words. Sasuke was not about to admit to her that he could not quite do everything he wanted – not when his existence was tied to the dead. Sakura's perception was based on common human misconception.
"Hn," was all he offered in response, folding his arms meaningfully across his chest. Many deities had envied mortals in the past – because while they lived comparably short lives, their existences were full and emotionally gratifying. In contrast, immortal beings were prone to becoming desensitised over the ages – because they knew everything there was to know and had experienced all there was to experience.
Interpreting his dismissive scoff for godly arrogance, Sakura let the attempt at conversation slide and settled for working in silence. But she kept sneaking little glances at him as she continued to lace dark blue and purple blooms together, noting how he seemed to be scowling aloofly at the gorgeous scenery around them, as if thoroughly unimpressed. She fought back the sudden urge to giggle. How could anybody possibly be miserable in heaven?
The tinkling sound of giggles prompted her to look up and find a group of five girls dressed in floaty white, gossamer dresses, approaching them. They appeared to be aged roughly between thirteen and seventeen years old, and were holding even more wreathes of flowers in their hands, consisting of sunny yellows and oranges and rich reds. Tentatively, they stopped a safe distance before Sasuke, and curtsied low. When the death deity simply stared coolly back at them, they held out their offerings, speaking nervously once again in a language Sakura could not understand. She could tell, however, from the way the youngest of the four girls lingered back that they were afraid to even approach the Underworld's King. And with good reason. They had to have great courage, she thought amusedly to herself, to attempt to give a god as stoic as Sasuke was colourful blooms to wear.
Sasuke closed his eyes and turned his face dismissively away, indicating that their gifts were of no interest to him. Sakura saw the way the girls' faces fell in dejection and disappointment. Something about the way the smallest of the girls looked like she was on the verge of crying spurned her to frown at the Death God. Why was he cold-shouldering them, when they clearly only desired to please him?
Uncertainly, the tallest of the girls, a pretty, curly-haired redhead, looked to Sakura instead. After whispering to her friends, she shifted over, but continued to glance fearfully toward Sasuke, who was watching her movements with eagle-eyes, ready to pounce if she tried anything he did not agree with. But the brown-eyed girl innocently held out the garlands to Sakura, and gave her an anxious smile, uttering something incomprehensible again.
"I don't know what you're saying, but thank you," Sakura smiled back at her, hoping that the girl could somehow understand her. The redhead's features lifted, as if she did – then she grew aware of Sasuke's hard stare again, and darted back to join her friends. With another wave of curtsies, the girls turned and skipped away, the youngest throwing back a saddened glance over her shoulder before disappearing quickly out of sight.
Sakura looked down at the lovingly assembled wreaths in her hands – and shook her head.
"They were only trying to be nice, Sasuke. You didn't have to scare them off."
He tilted his head back haughtily at that, and closed his eyes – presumably to signal that he was not interested in what she had to say at that moment, either.
"Hn."
Hn? What did that vague utterance even mean? Irritated that he was acting like such a spoiled jerk, Sakura found herself moving on instinct. She got up, closed the distance between them in four fluid strides, and, fuelled by a spontaneous burst of emotion, deposited one of the pretty yellow and orange garlands around his neck.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he froze as his mind processed what she had just done. Then he looked down at the flowers, as if they were nonsensical monstrosities hanging around his shoulders, rather than fragrant blossoms – before proceeding to direct a chilling glare up at Sakura, who was standing with her hands on her hips and a look of displeasure on her features. But the unconcealed, absolute disgust on Sasuke's face stirred within Sakura an unexpected urge to laugh – and she couldn't help herself from bursting into a fit of giggles. The flowers were such an outrageous contrast to his darkly handsome looks.
When his glower only intensified, and he yanked the floral chain off his neck with revulsion and flung it straight back at her, Sakura only laughed harder. Perhaps it was a little bout of hysteria, birthed from her overloaded senses, which impelled her to gasp, "That- that suited you!"
Irked, the death deity rose to his feet, shooting hateful daggers at the remaining garlands in her hands. He had half a mind to make them wither in her grasp. But the sight of her laughing was something of an anger-dampener. She was so… so annoying. And even more so when she smiled and laughed and did all the infuriating things that made something twinge inexplicably inside him.
"Wha-?" Sakura broke off bewilderedly at the feel of a sudden, forceful pull at her neck. Sasuke had taken both sides of one garland in his right hand and jerked her close, lowering his face so that it was inches from hers. She faltered, her amusement quickly waning, as she stared up at him in wide-eyed surprise. It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that Sasuke did not like to be laughed at, but she had not expected him to get so grumpy about it, either.
His narrowed eyes met hers – before an insidious and smug smirk graced his lips at the swift change in her expression.
"Still laughing, Sakura…?"
She pursed her lips and arched her body away from him, trying to get some space – but he would not allow it. With minimal effort, he tugged her forward, using the flower chain against her. Winding his left arm around her waist, he uttered, "We're finished here."
Then everything seemed to flash before her eyes, and for a chaotic moment, Sakura did not know what was happening. She only became aware that Sasuke had transported them to a new location when her feet touched solid ground again, and she dizzily looked up to find a pair of gigantic, elaborate golden gates, nestled between two towering, ivory walls that tapered off to join with white, pristine mountains.
What she glimpsed beyond the glowing bars sent the air packing from her lungs once more.
Author's note
DUN DUN DUN! They reach Elysium at last. What will Sasuke see?!
Not as much drama here, as the focus was on character development and relationship building, but please do believe me when I tell you that next update will be action-packed, and include dream sequences. I hope you enjoyed this one anyway, my takes on these mythical places, and the SasuSaku bonding that went on.
Leaving lovely reviews just might push out the next update a little faster. I definitely can't wait to start writing it. Just look what all the feedback for last chapter did – resulted in another quick update, despite my anticipation that I'd take longer! That's reader power, surely.
When will they kiss?! The answer is soon. How soon? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out, but all this build up is to make it feel as seamless and 'right' as possible. Believe me when I tell you I am itching to write it as much as you are itching to read it. I have the perfect music and everything ready ASDFGHJKL, I can't WAIT.
Now excuse me while I go eat some pomegranate. YUM.