Very sorry for my lack of activity. I've been going through a lot of changes in life and writing on here regrettably became the least pressing of my priorities.
Thank you for remaining patient and I hope you will find this chapter was worth the wait as this chapter covers more back-story relating to Kore's fate.
Chapter LI
She gazes into the mirror,
And sees her reflection within,
But recognises not,
The face therein.
"I thought I'd find you here," a melodic voice chirped.
Kore tensed, her back bolting up as straight as an iron-cast rod at the unexpected intrusion. Her hands, which had been deftly weaving a new basket to hold the bounties of her mother's latest harvest, almost snapped the straws they'd been looping together in half. Inwardly, she cursed her ill fortune. She was in no mood to entertain company, and though the earth beneath her feet usually informed her of any approaching visitors, her mind had clearly been preoccupied enough to fail to sense the arrival who'd managed to sneak up on her.
It was the very same person she had been evading so desperately.
"Avoiding me, as usual?" Aphrodite sat down in front of her, joining her on the grass beneath one of the fragrant apple trees that blessed Demeter's plentiful orchards. She wore a sleeveless peplos, which was far more revealing at the neckline than Kore's modest one. Her golden hair was also elaborately braided. Kore, in contrast, wore hers loose and had waved away her chaperones' attempts at styling her rose tresses earlier that morning.
Resuming her work, Kore replied, keeping her tone as light and casual as possible, "I am not sure what you mean."
"Oh, is that so?" Aphrodite reached out for a set of straws and proceeded to assist her friend in weaving, confirming Kore's fears that she had no desire to leave Kore's company any time soon. "So I am to believe that your making excuses to avoid spending much time with me over the past few weeks is entirely coincidental?"
Kore kept her eyes trained carefully upon her fingers. "The harvest is more abundant than last year. I've been busy helping mother."
She could feel the Goddess of Love's gaze practically burning into her. She could sense her suspicion.
"I'm sure that is true," Aphrodite's voice now had an edge to it that set Kore's heart pounding to a sickening beat. "But you forget, I know you better than anyone, and you haven't been yourself these past few moons."
Kore began to shake her head, although she already knew she was facing a losing battle. She'd tried so hard to escape this very confrontation. The reality was, she had known all along that she would eventually have to face Aphrodite. Kore might have been able to fool her mother and attendants into believing that she was fine – but Aphrodite's very forte was in matters that concerned the heart.
There was a long, tense pause, in which Kore desperately hoped that somehow she would be left alone – but she had no such luck on her side.
"You won't even look at me!" Aphrodite threw down the straws she had been twisting. "I know I'm a shameless flirt, I probably embarrass you far more often than you deserve, and Olympus knows I've gotten you into all kinds of mischief, but are we not sisters?" She gestured. "Are we not the closest of friends? If there is something I have done to displease you, you're always quick to let me know. So why have you been avoiding me, Kore? Why do you spend all your time these days hidden away either in your temple, or your mother's, or in these fields? You always used to despise being told to stay within the boundaries of your mother's lands. So what is this all about?"
Kore almost wanted to laugh in despair at the irony of Aphrodite's words. Remaining safely within her mother's lands had been what she ought to have done from the very start. Had she never strayed, she would never have been so hurt.
The Goddess of Love's lovely face scrunched up into displeasure as she went on, "Even Apollo is worrying about you; he says you never spend time with him anymore. You never smile. If you're angry with us, then tell us why! Don't just shut us out and-" she broke off suddenly, inhaling sharply. "Gods above- Kore?" She reached out to her friend. "Your hands are shaking. What in Zeus's name is the matter?"
Kore felt the sting of tears at her eyes and rapidly batted them back. She could not crumble. Not now - but months of suppressed pain were battling to force their way through the fragile façade she had adopted to display to the world.
Breaking down now meant that Aphrodite would find out the truth. And if Aphrodite found out the truth… so would, inevitably, her mother. But it seemed her body was already betraying her emotions.
"I'm sorry." Kore clasped her treacherous hands together tightly to prevent them from revealing anything more of her inner turmoil. "I felt a chill just now. That's all." Taking a deep breath, she bravely raised her eyes to meet Aphrodite's at last. She saw the confusion and frustration on her friend's face, and offered her a smile that she hoped looked genuine.
Internally, she prayed her friend would forgive her for the lie she was about to tell – the lie she was forced to tell, to protect Aphrodite – and herself – from a truth nobody else could ever discover. No other could ever know about the terrible mistakes Kore had made – what she had given of herself – to someone who had discarded her like she had never mattered at all. Nobody could find out about how foolish and naïve she had been following what her heart had believed was true "love".
"You're right," she answered softly. "I haven't been myself lately, have I? I am sorry. I just…" she shook her head, letting her gaze shift to the fields of golden corn around them. "I had an argument with my mother. She is displeased with me. I want to win back her favour, and to do that, I thought it best to not venture far from her lands."
"By Olympus," Aphrodite exhaled in relief. "Is that all there is to it? What is she so displeased about now?" Leaning forward, her eyebrows raised, the playful goddess pressed, "Is it a man? Do you have a secret lover?"
Kore stared at her, too stunned by how dangerously close to the truth her friend was to mask the horror on her face. When Aphrodite giggled in response, Kore almost fainted with relief.
"So, what is it?" Aphrodite questioned casually. "What did you do to anger her without me?"
Kore hesitated. She had prepared her answer multiple times in anticipation of this very conversation. But just as she was about to say her rehearsed words, Aphrodite's smile faded, and she said something that made Kore's heart leap to her throat.
"You insult me, Kore."
"I… what?" Kore faltered, struggling to keep her expression neutral.
"I know precisely why you've been avoiding me and everyone else." Her eyes narrowed. "In fact, your mother sent me here today to find out what is the matter with you. Why you've been so quiet and distracted. You think she would not notice? You think we all have not noticed?" she pointed an accusatory finger. "You haven't displeased her. You're lying to me." When Kore opened her mouth to argue otherwise, Aphrodite glared, "There's no use denying it. I know that look in your eyes. I'd recognise it anywhere!"
"I don't know what you're-" Kore began feebly, but already she knew she was trapped. Her heart raced, ramming against her ribcage. She felt physically sick. And all at once, the months of repressed emotion were pushing through, demanding release, and there was nothing she could do to keep them locked away any longer. Overwhelmed with emotion, her eyes watered, and this time she couldn't blink fast enough to stop the tears from falling.
"Heaven's above," Aphrodite muttered. "I knew it. How could this happen without me even knowing it? It's my fault, really. I've been far too distracted lately by…" she caught herself and shook her head. "Nevermind." Moving closer so that she sat beside Kore, she pushed in a gentler tone, "I might have agreed to find out what's troubling you, but that doesn't mean I'll tell your mother the whole truth if you don't wish that of me."
Kore wiped at her eyes. "Please," she pleaded, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "Please do not tell her. You cannot!"
"I won't, but you had better tell me," said Aphrodite sternly. "Enough avoiding the matter. Tell me at once who it is that has you so lovelorn.'
Kore shook her head sullenly. "It does not matter who he is, for he is gone in the past, and no more.'
Aphrodite pursed her lips. "Oh, it matters, for if he were truly in the past, you would not be so upset in the present. I will ensure the one who has broken your heart shall cease to have one!"
Kore almost laughed in dismay. "You needn't trouble yourself," she near-whispered. "For he has shown that he has no heart. It was…" Even then, she tried to protect herself and her friend. For if her mother found out that she had told Aphrodite, and that Aphrodite had kept it a secret, her wrath would know no bounds. She knew they would both be called to Zeus, Hera and the Council, and likely be sanctioned and reprimanded terribly. "It was a human boy. A vain, pretentious, undeserving son of a hunter who I met in a flower field, and…"
Aphrodite picked up the half completed basket Kore had been working on, examining it with cool eyes. Kore's voice trailed off. She knew that look. Aphrodite not only did not believe her – but was losing her patience.
"You know, Kore," she sighed, "all I need do is reach out and touch your heart, look into it, and I will find all the answers I seek. But I had hoped, after all our years of friendship that you would confide in me willingly, and cease to insult my intelligence any further. Had it been a human, I would have heard him sigh and sing your name."
Kore could no longer hold back. She burst into tears, weeping, terrified, guilt-ridden, loathing herself for her blind, selfish mistakes. All she could think about was how disappointed her mother was going to be when she learned the truth. How furious. For Aphrodite surely could not keep such a burden to herself. Overcome with dread and despair, she wept into her hands, and Aphrodite, stunned at the depth of her pain, cursed angrily.
"Who is he?" she demanded. "I'll tear his heart to pieces! Don't tell me it's Apollo! I know he flirts with you like no tomorrow. If he's tried anything, by Zeus, I'll-"
Kore wept harder. If only it had been someone like Apollo! If only her heart could have settled upon a respectable god of whom she knew her mother would approve – but instead it had fallen for one forged of seductive darkness. A prince of shadows and death who had misled her and tossed her aside when he'd had his fill of her.
His handsome face hovered in her mind's eye, and the stab of agony in her heart was too much to bear. She reached out unthinkingly, and Aphrodite caught her hand, the skin to skin contact allowing her to mentally extend her powers, to see inside her friend's broken heart, to read the anguish and to see the one who had placed it there.
Aphrodite gasped in shock, her fingers immediately loosening from their hold on Kore. She snatched her hand away as if she had been scalded by the very flames of Tartarus that his family commanded.
Staring at Kore, aghast and stricken with the weight of understanding, the name fell from her lips in a horrified, tremoring whisper of disbelief.
"No… you- it cannot be! Hades…?"
Frantic feet pounded upon the ground as the three hooded figures stole away under cover of nightfall through the misty forest, travelling with an urgency that made the world pass by their running forms in a senseless blur.
Adrenaline and relief fuelled them forward. They did not stop, not until they had reached the jeep that had been parked hidden in a dense thicket of trees. And once in it, they slammed the doors shut, locked them, and sped toward their intended destination.
That was the first time that Naruto, with trembling hands, had lifted the cloak which had been wrapped protectively around the concealed bundle Kakashi had been carrying, and looked upon her face.
Kakashi and Jiraiya drove on in silence, listening to Naruto's ragged sobs as he wept inconsolably in the back of the car.
Sakura was floating in a peaceful, warm bubble, drifting along a lulling tide that gently returned her back to a state of semi-consciousness. It was a strange sensation, becoming partially aware of the world around her again. Her body seemed to fight it, clinging stubbornly onto the comfort of fuzzy darkness. As her heavy eyelids lifted, she saw blurred shapes leaning over her, heard a confusing mix of blended voices speaking words which her ears struggled to understand. She felt something clasping her hand tightly, thought she heard her name being called. But sleep beckoned to her once more, and she gladly returned to it, her mind dissolving back into a fog of blissful nothing.
Kore had been dozing under one of the many clusters of fig trees that blessed the sprawling fields of her mother's temple, when a sudden screech startled her awake. She blinked in brief confusion, squinting against the afternoon sunlight that filtered through the swaying boughs of leaves above her, trying to locate the source of the sound. That was when she found it. Majestic, black and preened to perfection, the elegant bird rested atop the bough directly above her head.
It was so unlike the many feathered friends that frequented Demeter's lands. Such birds, Kore knew, did not journey to such habitats.
In fact, she had only ever seen this particular species when-
Kore gasped, jumping up to her feet. Her heart immediately began to canter within her chest. Surely it couldn't be! Not now. He could not be so cruel as to contact her again, not after she had cried rivers over his callous abandonment of her, his heartless rejection of her love.
But as the hawk ruffled its feathers and tilted its head at her, Kore knew there could be no doubting it.
This was Hades's messenger hawk.
Her mind screamed at her to chase the bird off. She wanted nothing more to do with him. He had caused her such pain. And yet her foolish heart ached terribly, and already her palm had lifted against the trunk of the tree beside her, sending a tranquil, soothing charge through the wood, so as not to frighten the bird away.
Was it a mere coincidence that the bird had found her? Hades had made it clear he no longer desired her and had not made any contact with her for many moons. It had been as if he'd never existed… just a fragment of her imagination – save for the anguish in her heart and the memories that tormented her.
Feeling tears which she had sworn she would never allow to fall again for him well up in her eyes once more, she whispered, "What brings you here…? Did he… did he send you…?"
The bird then suddenly spread its wings and swooped abruptly off the branch.
"Wait!" Kore cried desperately after it. "Come back! Please!"
The bird circled high around the tree, seemingly about to fly away – when it suddenly changed course and turned back to dive toward her. Kore held out her arm instinctively, and gasped in surprise when the bird came to rest right upon her left forearm.
She stared at it in disbelief, a fine tremble running through her arm. Her eyes searched its body, and sure enough, a tiny scroll had been attached to the bird's left leg with a firmly secured piece of string. As soon as she retrieved the parchment from the bird, it took flight again, soaring into the sky and soon disappearing from sight.
Kore slowly unravelled the parchment – and released a quivering breath as she looked upon the neatly scrawled message inside.
"The forest. Midnight. 3 nights hence."
There was no question that Hades had sent this. But why? Her head spun as she leaned back against the tree for support. She felt breathless, disorientated – and suddenly extremely angry.
What could he possibly intend by requesting a meeting after so much time had passed since he'd left her behind? Did he just expect her to run to him the instant he summoned her? Still now he toyed with her heart! Ought she to inform Aphrodite? Her friend had kept her secret well, but if the Goddess of Love discovered Hades had made contact again, Kore feared that Aphrodite's rage would no longer allow her to remain silent.
Kore read the note again, unable to take her eyes from it. She had two options To tear the message into shreds and never look back – or to meet him as he requested.
The forest… which did he mean? The one he had left her behind in? The last place they had met?
Do not do it, her voice of reason, the one she had disregarded so often in the past and paid for her carelessness for it, pleaded with her. Do not go to him. You swore you would not. You promised Aphrodite that you would never see him again.
But dark eyes flashed across her memory, and the deep twinge in her heart already dictated to her what she would do.
She would meet him, one final time. If only to gain the closure he had so unkindly denied her. She would see him, give him a piece of her mind – and then she would move on and forget he ever existed.
Kore scarcely slept the next two nights. She lay awake, tossing and turning restlessly, her mind racing, wondering what it was that Hades wished to speak to her about.
Perhaps he was sorry? Maybe he regretted what he had done and finally wished to explain his appalling behaviour? Or maybe that was wishful thinking, and something terrible had happened instead. Maybe he wished to use her again – if not her body, then perhaps her gifts?
A stab of worry twisted deep within her gut as her thoughts took a darker turn. Or maybe someone had discovered them? Was that why he had offered her no explanations? Her mind went over exhausting every possibility, until she eventually slipped into fitful sleep.
When she awoke at dawn, the day seemed to drag on far too slowly. Kore willed night to fall faster, and when it eventually came, misled her chaperone nymphs by pretending that she wished to rest early, so took her leave within her temple. Drawing a dark, veiled cloak around herself, she then snuck out the temple grounds, and fled into the night, her heart drumming with an unsettling mix of apprehension and anticipation.
It had been so long since she had seen him, she thought, as she finally arrived at the forest in which they had parted many moons past. Too long since she had heard his voice. She wondered, as she strolled into a small clearing in the trees, which of them would be the first to speak.
She reached out, pressing a palm against the trunk of a tree, listening to the forest. She closed her eyes briefly, feeling the thrumming energy of the living things that dwelled in it, the whisper of the flora; the oneness with nature that was her gift.
"Goddess! Goddess! Goddess!" she heard the plants and flowers chant repeatedly. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but then, suddenly, came more urgent, simultaneous whisperings that steadily grew in intensity.
"Flee! Flee! Away, Goddess!"
Kore looked at the tree in confusion. Flee? Why should she flee?
"Death!" The plants communicated. "Death is here!"
Death? Kore frowned lightly, trying to listen closer, to understand – but her concentration was abruptly broken by the sound of rustling somewhere to her far left. Her heart jumped. The plants' warnings referred to Hades, of course. He belonged to the Land of the Dead.
Gulping and taking a deep breath, she turned to follow the direction the noise had come in – only to look down in surprise when she felt resistance at her feet. A flowering vine growing around the base of the tree had coiled around her ankles – as if to prevent her from continuing onward. Kore blinked down at it in shock. Flowers had always gravitated toward her touch, but only when she summoned them, only when she permitted it. They never dared to reach out to her otherwise out of respect for her exalted status as Goddess of Spring.
"What is it, little flower?" she whispered. "I know who is here. I have come to meet him of my own free will." She tugged at her ankle, and when she was met with more resistance and calls of protest, scowled, struggling to break free without hurting the vine.
"Nay, nay, away-!" the vine and surrounding plant-life grew louder, a deafening, high-pitched, unpleasant resonance in her mind, and Kore's heart began to pound harder. She had never experienced this before. Was the forest truly trying to warn her that she was in real danger? She looked back in the direction the sound had come from, hesitating briefly.
But they would view Hades as an enemy. Even Apollo, she was aware, had become worried about how withdrawn and distant his friend had become of late.
"Let go," she mentally commanded, losing patience. The last thing she wanted was for Hades to see her again in a flustered state. The plants wailed in response, making her head throb, and she ordered more forcefully, "I said release me, and be silent!"
The vine immediately retreated, and the calls abruptly stopped. Kore recomposed herself, leaving the clearing, wading deeper into the greenery, in the direction she had heard the noise come from.
Finally, she found him. He stood with his back to her, dressed in a hooded black cloak. Kore's heart raced, her legs almost turning to jelly. The power- the sheer, intensity of darkness that radiated from his form, was smothering, like overwhelming, deadly coils of icy coldness that froze everything around them. She could not take a step closer. Had his aura always been this potent? She was sure that it must have been, but somehow, it seemed so much more intense than she could recall.
When he did not speak or turn to greet her, she braced herself, straightened, telling herself that she had to be brave, to be strong; to show him she had no weaknesses.
"Why have you called me here?" she confronted him. "I hope you have a good explanation. Though," her voice wavered, "you should know I came here for me, not for you!"
A long, tense silence ensued.
Kore felt anger flare in her chest. She had not come all this way to receive silence and she would make sure he knew it.
"I did not come here to be ignored," she called to him. "You owe me an explanation! Turn and face me!"
Again, her only response was the quiet hum of the forest.
Kore's lips parted, and his name tumbled out in a quitter murmur of uncertainty, as her mind registered that he appeared even taller than she remembered, that this Hades seemed changed to her… almost as if…
Almost as if he were someone else entirely.
"Hades…?"
For a long, stomach-wrenching minute, the silence lingered. Then, at last, he shifted and turned, his features still obscured under the shadows cast by the hood - at the precise moment a bird suddenly cawed and took flight in a loud flap of wings somewhere overhead.
Searing crimson eyes pierced into her with an intensity that knocked the air cleanly out of Kore's lungs. The eye-contact was akin to a devastating, physical blow, slamming into her mind, causing pain to stab and throb through her skull. She could not remember his gaze ever inflicting such torment upon her and was so startled by its influence that she took a step backward alarmed - and all at once, afraid.
What… she thought dizzily, even as she felt a sickening wave of faintness wash over her, what has he become…?
The world around her seemed to melt away, as if it were falling to pieces, shattering around her into tiny fragments. The last thing she heard before she plunged into darkness was one spoken word, in a quiet voice, as smooth and seductive as night itself.
"Release."
The dream faded away, replaced by an incessant throbbing sensation in her head. Opening her eyes felt like a colossal effort, and every part of Sakura's body screamed against returning to consciousness. It hurt so much less to stay floating in nothingness. But she could feel slumber rapidly slipping away from her as her eyelids fluttered open, squinting against the dim light that met her bleary gaze. She stared groggily up at the sight that met her, as it blinked into focus.
A ceiling. She swallowed, her throat feeling oddly parched. It was a ceiling, she slowly registered. She felt warmth and softness around her, realising that she was in a bed. Then another wave of pain radiated in her skull, causing her eyes to squeeze shut again, and her fingers and teeth to clench reflexively. She felt something squeeze back in her right hand. Heard a gasp beside her.
A voice she had not heard for so long, whispered, "Sakura…?"
Fighting back the ache in her mind, Sakura's eyes flew open again. This time she looked around her, really looked, her eyes filling with tears, blurring her vision anew as she dared to hope.
She saw her personal belongings, untouched, as if she had never left. The posters of boy-band members on the walls that she'd never bothered to take down.
She was no longer in the majestic bed she'd slept in for months while held captive in the Underworld.
Sakura met the baby-blue eyes of the person stationed by her bedside, felt the lump in her throat thicken in recognition.
She was back on the surface? She was… home…?
A memory flashed vividly in her mind, causing another onslaught of agony to assault her head as her recollections suddenly flooded back all at once, overwhelming her.
Fire. Smoke. Wailing voices. Blazing, furious crimson eyes.
Sasuke.
Her heart skipped a beat. The God of Death had let her go?
Releasing a choked sob, Sakura wept in her bed. She wept in disbelief, in relief, in despair, in confusion.
Warm arms wrapped tentatively around her. Ino bent over and hugged her as if she were holding something incredibly fragile, as if she were afraid Sakura would vanish before her eyes again if she applied too much pressure. She cried with her friend, tears that someone as sophisticated as Ino rarely displayed in public.
"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, over and over. "I'm so sorry, it all my fault… you're safe now, it's ok, I'm so sorry…"
Sakura closed her eyes again, sheer relief rendering her exhausted as she blinked through the tears. She was alive. But how? It couldn't have been a bad dream. She had felt Sasuke physically push her back into the chasms of Tartarus, had felt the heat of the flames rushing up to singe her skin.
He had been furious. She'd betrayed him. How had she ended up back home? How could he have possibly sent her back?
He'd sent her back, even after she'd betrayed him? Her thoughts were spinning. She was disconcerted, had so many questions – and not just about how she had gotten back home.
After a long moment, Ino finally pulled back, helping a wincing Sakura sit up.
"Are you alright?" she questioned anxiously, tearfully.
Sakura stared back at her, taking in her worried, beautiful features, glad to see her again. Then everything that she had discovered about her mother and her friends in the Underworld resurfaced afresh in her mind.
This was her best friend. The one she had yearned to see for so long. And yet how could she look at her, at any of them, in the same light, knowing what she now did?
Was she alright? Sakura felt anything but fine.
She heard footsteps outside the room, and the door, which had been left slightly ajar, was pushed completely open by a dark-haired, slender woman. Shizune entered with a tray bearing a glass and a familiar shimmering, golden liquid in a decanter that Sakura now knew to be ambrosia. She gasped upon seeing Sakura sitting up awake, her eyes wide, and looked back at the second woman who entered behind her. An exhausted-looking Tsunade inhaled sharply upon seeing her child conscious. Deftly, she stepped around Shizune who had set the tray upon the bedside table, pulled Ino aside and took her place, sitting by Sakura's side.
She reached out, with finely trembling hands, brushing her fingers lightly over Sakura's pink hair, which was so much paler than she remembered, so much longer. A woman who did not usually show outward emotion excessively, Sakura saw the pain shining in her mother's eyes, and could not help the fresh tears that welled up in her own. She was angry. She was confused. She wanted answers. But she also loved her mother, and had missed her terribly.
"Mother!" She threw her arms around her mother, crying hard into her shoulder.
For a long time, Tsunade simply held her daughter, clutching her tightly, smoothing down her hair in silence until Sakura's sobs eventually became subdued sniffles.
Finally she pulled back, looking her daughter over again with eyes rimmed red from poorly withheld tears. "Sakura," she stated, barely concealing the heavy emotion in her voice. "Are you hurt? Suigetsu told me everything."
So Suigetsu had made it back and contacted Tsunade, after all? Sakura silently wondered just how much of the truth he'd spun to make himself appear the victim and favourable. She guessed that he'd missed out the part where he'd casually suggested holding her in his realm until her mother handed over the fabled sword he'd clearly been desperate to possess. But she decided to leave that confrontation for another time.
"That Uchiha snake!" Tsunade spat hatefully. "Did he hurt you?"
Sakura stared back at her, unsure of how to answer. Had Sasuke hurt her? He'd kidnapped her, caused her a great deal of emotional distress, and just thinking about him caused an inexplicable tightness to fill her chest. With the exception of their last bitter conflict, he'd not physically threatened or injured her. While his selfish actions had been inexcusable, he'd also opened her eyes to a world which she had literally been blind to – a world of which she had been completely ignorant – and a truth that she likely never would have discovered had he not stolen her away.
Slowly, she shook her head. But this didn't seem to reassure Tsunade one bit.
"How did I get back?" Sakura asked.
"Naruto, Kakashi and Jiraiya retrieved you from the Underworld." Her mother's light brown eyes inspected her face closely, as if looking for anything that might be amiss. When her daughter rubbed at her temples, Tsunade pressed a warm palm against Sakura's head, and Sakura felt the throbbing in her mind immediately ebb away.
She exhaled, her confusion growing at her mother's response. Sasuke really had released her? Handed her over freely, even after she'd betrayed him?
That was it? He'd never disturb her again? But what about the pomegranate seeds she had eaten? What did that mean for her? Would she have to return as he'd stated? Or had he somehow lied to her, and reversed the binding powers of the fruit?
She had so many questions that only he could answer – but now that she was back on the surface, she supposed she wouldn't have the opportunity to ask him directly.
Tsunade seemed to be thinking along similar lines. "Sakura," she sternly said. "Did you eat crimson seeds from the Forbidden Fruit in his realm?" Sakura met her eyes, saw the dread and concern in them. "Tell me you did not, my child!"
Sakura opened her mouth helplessly. For a minute she considered lying to save her mother any further strife. But then she remembered just how much her mother had withheld from her, and answered, "I did."
Shizune and Ino both gasped in dismay. Tsunade ground her teeth, clearly wrestling with her composure.
"Sakura…" Ino whispered. "Oh, no!"
"How many?" Tsunade ground out. When Sakura didn't respond, she shook her daughter by the shoulders. "Sakura, how many did you eat?"
"I don't- a handful!" Sakura answered back emotionally, squirming against her mother's grasp. The seeds had been so generous in size, unlike any pomegranate she'd ever had on the surface in both richness of taste and appearance. "I didn't know what they would do!"
Ino looked in concern at Tsunade, whose lips were pursed. Sakura recognised that look. Her mother was furious.
"We must find out precisely how many she has ingested, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said urgently. "He must be called by the Council to answer for his crime! That fruit is forbidden to surface-dwellers!"
"Oh, he will answer," Tsunade hissed. "I'll see that Uchiha brat pay for this!"
Sakura shook her head, reaching out to grip her mother's wrists as she began to draw back, preventing her from going any further.
"When were you going to tell me?" she demanded, and as she spoke, her entire body began to tremble, the enormity of what she was about to discuss shaking her to her very core. "When were you ALL going to tell me the truth?!"
Tsunade's gaze lowered. After a long moment of silence, she said quietly, "What has he told you, Sakura?"
"More than anything any of you ever told me!" Sakura cried tearfully. "Is it true, mother? That you're all ancient deities? Tell me… is it true?!"
Shizune's hand flew to her chest in alarm. There was a long tense silence, in which all women looked shocked. Then Shizune sputtered, "T-Tsunade-sama! She is still not fully rested, this would perhaps overburden her so soon-"
"No!" Ino surprised Sakura by interjecting. "We can't keep this hidden from her anymore! I've said it all along, we should've told her-"
"Be quiet, Ino," Tsunade snapped.
But Ino bravely argued, "If you won't tell her, I will!"
"You remember what's happened when we have in the past," Shizune said in a hushed voice. "No amount of ambrosia could help-"
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Sakura shouted, stunning everyone in the room into silence once again. "I'm sick of being treated like a clueless little child! Tell me the truth!"
There was another lengthy pause, in which Shizune shook her head fearfully, and Ino, who despite looking anxious, urged Tsunade, "She's seen the Underworld, she's already met an immortal who clearly had no issues sharing what we ought to have with her; she knows enough, we can tell her!"
Tsunade closed her eyes, as if weighing her decision carefully. Finally, she answered, what Sakura knew she would hear, but was no less easy to accept, "It's true."
Sakura gasped in dismay. Then Sasuke had been telling her the truth all along. Which meant everything else he'd told her had to be, surely? Furiously, she threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, as she fully challenged the people who had let her live a lie her entire life.
"All these years," her voice shook as she ran her fingers stressfully through her hair, "you let me believe that we were just normal people. Everyone I care for and love, you all kept this from me?! Why?" When her mother would not meet her gaze, Sakura leaned forward, grabbing her by her arms, wanting to shake her the way she had just minutes earlier. "Mother, answer me, please! I don't understand!"
"Sakura," she began. "You must calm down-"
"Calm down?" Sakura echoed incredulously. The suggestion was so absurd, she almost laughed at it. "You're gods, and you never thought to tell me?"
"It isn't that we didn't want to tell you," Ino began, but her best friend was ranting on.
"And for all these years, you let me think the attacks I was having were just some medical condition, when the truth is, I've been housing some fragment of a deceased goddess's powers all along! And you've just let me hold it, let me suffer with something I never asked for!"
Tsunade inhaled sharply once more, finally looking at Sakura in horror. "You…" she whispered, "What lies has he fed you?"
"Lies? Sasuke's the only one who told me anything about the truth! I don't know what to believe anymore! I don't know who I am!" Sakura's eyes spilled tears. "Why did you never tell me? Any of you?" she cast a wild-eyed look at Ino, who looked guilty, distraught. "Why would you keep this from me?"
"BECAUSE I CANNOT LOSE YOU AGAIN!" Tsunade finally snapped.
Sakura sucked in a breath, looking into her mother's face. Suddenly she seemed like a stranger. All Sakura wanted was to close her eyes, for the last half a year to be a terrible dream that she could somehow awaken from. But no amount of pinching herself would rouse her from the nightmare in which she was living. She had been so sure about her life, about what she wanted, about her future. Now everything seemed to be spiralling out of her control.
Her mother was a goddess. Ino was a goddess. Shizune was a goddess. And Sakura was absolutely sure she was mortal – which made her wonder how her mother was truly her parent at all.
She fumbled with the question, feeling sick to the stomach. "Are you even really my mother?"
Tsunade's face flushed red with fresh anger.
"Of course I am," she replied indignantly. Then, breathing deeply, she attempted to reign some calmness back into her voice. "Everything I have done," she said, "was to protect you."
"I don't understand," Sakura answered, feeling like she was losing her mind. How was not telling her who they really were protecting her? How was not telling her about Kore's fragment being locked inside her sheltering her in any way? Had they not considered the fall-out in the event she ever found out the truth? How that would make her feel? "Why didn't you tell me who you really are? Why didn't you tell me about her… about Kore?"
Tsunade frowned. "Sakura… it's not so simple… we… damn it…"
Sensing her hesitation, Ino urged, "We have to tell her. Weren't we told that her true and final incarnation would be when events mirror what happened in her original life? This has to be it!"
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune conceded. "Perhaps Ino-chan has a point. She has seen the shades of the Underworld, just as she did in her first life…"
"And if it isn't her final form, then there's nothing we can do to prevent what's happened each time before, whether we tell her or not!" Ino added.
Tsunade looked pained, but slowly nodded.
True and final incarnation? Final form? What were they saying? Growing ever more agitated, she yelled, "I don't want it inside me! Whatever she was, whatever this is I'm holding, I don't want it! This is my body! Not hers!"
The expressions that passed across all women's faces made her fall silent. When Tsunade took both her hands in hers, Sakura felt a terrible stillness fill her. Like the quiet, brief hush before an explosive storm.
Her mother met her gaze directly. "Sakura. We are all deities charged with dominion over different aspects that enable life to continue in this world. Kore was the Goddess of Springtime. You do not simply share your body with Kore's fragment. Sakura… you are Kore, and the fragment is simply what keeps your soul, your past memories and your powers fused together. Without it, you would not exist."
Sakura's mind went blank. She looked from one woman to the other, in muted disbelief. She was Kore?
"That's…" Sakura spluttered. "That's impossible- there's no way that I…! I couldn't possibly…" her voice trailed off, as she realised it made perfect sense, given who her mother was. She also remembered how quickly she had managed to manipulate chakra in the Underworld.
Far too effectively than any ordinary human could. She'd assumed this was down to the fragment contaminating her body with the ancient goddess's powers, somehow. It turned out she had been thinking along the right lines – except the fragment was no parasite using her body as a host – she was being told the fragment was her.
But Sasuke hadn't told her that. She didn't understand. Her heart leapt into her throat. They were telling her she was really Kore. Sasuke. Sasuke was Hades. And in all the visions she'd had in her dreams, Kore had loved Hades.
No, she thought. No, it couldn't be true, because if it was, then that would mean that Kore and Sasuke… she and Sasuke, they had… her mind refused to finish the thought, but her heart pounded, already doing so.
"You are Kore reborn," Ino sat on the other side of her bed. "But unlike us, you're without your memories. That's why you can't remember anything of your previous life."
"You're telling me that I'm the Goddess of Spring?" Sakura demanded incredulously, looking at all three women. There didn't seem to be any hint of jest on their faces. She placed a hand to her forehead, trying to make sense of what she was being told. Sasuke had led her to believe she was merely acting as a host body to the fragment of a deceased goddess. Why had he not told her that she was the goddess?
Maybe he had not known the truth himself. Or perhaps, after she'd told him that she'd had visions of him with the mysterious "Kore", he hadn't wanted to tell her, any more than she now wanted it to be true. After all, it was clear to Sakura that he oddly had no recollection of Kore, either.
Or if he did then that… that would also explain why he was attracted to her, why he had kidnapped her. Because they'd been lovers before in ages long past.
Sakura felt her cheeks burn. The narrative was beginning to make more sense if she accepted what she was hearing… and yet she could not remember it as being her who had experienced any of it. Instead it was like she was calling on details from a long ago movie she had watched. She recalled parts of it – but not as the actress who'd played the part. More a viewer who felt detached from the events entirely.
"We didn't just choose to lock the fragment within you, Sakura-chan," Shizune said gently. "Rather, it is part of the cycle we had no choice but to accept. It was the only way to stop you from passing on forever."
"The cycle of what?" Sakura felt like she was on the verge of throwing up, trying to fight back the feeling that once again, her world was falling to pieces. "What do you mean by reborn?"
Seeing how all colour had drained from her daughter's face, Tsunade shook her head, glancing in concern at Ino and Shizune.
"It's too soon. We've said enough." Turning back to Sakura, she began, "You need to rest some more."
"No!" Sakura protested. "I need to know now. Please."
Tsunade looked gravely at her daughter. Then she motioned to Shizune to bring forward a glass of golden liquid that Sakura recognised.
"Drink," Tsunade held the glass out to Sakura, who began to shake her head again. But the look on her mother's face left no room for argument. "You've been too long gone from the surface. I will tell you what you wish to know – but you must trust me, and drink. This will help stabilise you."
Sakura reluctantly accepted the drink. Her mind briefly wandered to the last time she had ingested it. In Sasuke's kingdom. She terribly yearned to know what had happened after she'd lost consciousness, how exactly he had released her back to the surface, but dared not ask her mother now. That could wait, she told herself. First she had to understand the truth about Kore… about herself.
After gulping the liquid hastily down, she felt it soothe her, relax her, and the sense of growing agitation in her chest abated. Passing the glass back to Shizune, she looked at her mother expectantly. At a woman she now knew was a goddess.
"There was a war, long ago," Tsunade started. Every word pained her, for she had spoken them so many times before, to countless previous reincarnations of her daughter that had only ended up fading before her eyes each time. "Between the surface deities who lived in our home, atop a mountain called Olympus… and the Underworld dwellers. It was not us who began the war. Rather, the leader of the Uchiha clan at the time… Cronus, he was named then. A power-hungry, war-mongering god who desired the seat of power in Olympus. The seat of Zeus, God of Lightning, King of the Gods."
"Zeus," Sakura repeated. "Which one of you is that?"
A look of regret once again washed over all the women's faces.
"He is no longer with us, Sakura-chan," Shizune said softly. "There were great casualties on both sides of the war."
"Zeus assisted in your birth," Tsunade said. "It is he who granted the light for your creation. I suppose," she mused, "He is the closest thing to a "father" you had; though genetically you are not related. He had only one child with his Queen, Hera."
"Gods aren't always born into existence the same way biology class taught us," Ino smiled slightly, seeing Sakura's baffled expression.
"You came into existence born from Tsunade-sama's memories and emotions of the man she loved long ago, a mortal, who passed," said Shizune.
"Zeus infused you with the hallowed light of the Gods, and you were born an infant goddess." Tsunade explained.
Sakura, who had always possessed a rational and scientific mind, struggled to process this.
"Wait." She shook her head. "That's just… that's crazy." Then it hit her. "Is that why you'd never tell me who my father is?"
Her mother nodded.
Sakura exhaled. "You said he had a child. Are they gone, too?"
"No," Tsunade replied slowly. "His child is very much with us. It's Naruto."
Sakura's jaw dropped. That knuckleheaded goofball was the son of the King of the surface gods?
She couldn't believe it.
"Hard to imagine, I know," Ino remarked wryly at Sakura's incredulous face.
Sakura shook her head. "Go on," she pressed.
"The war threatened the safety of the mortals we were tasked to protect, so we took up arms and we fought to defeat Cronus," Tsunade continued. "We were successful – but not without many losses. Cronus was not killed. A nine-tailed demon fox that had been mind-controlled to protect him at all costs prevented us from getting to him. To end the bloodshed, we departed the ruins of Olympus. Zeus and Hera lured Cronus to the summit, defeated the creature, and wove a powerful seal upon Cronus, preventing him from ever setting foot upon the surface again. He was trapped in the very place he had so desired to conquer."
Sakura listened in wide-eyed fascination. This was not part of the history Sasuke had told her about, and her sharp mind was quickly connecting the different pieces of information she had been given, and slotting them into place to form a timeline from which she could derive some manner of sense.
"Cronus gained his seat at Olympus; but at a cost." Tsunade scowled. "His family were lost to him, family he had sacrificed and allowed to be slain as pawns in his selfish ambition. He had no Council, held no power over the surface and mortals as he intended. There he remains in confinement to this day, cursing humans who forgot his name, cursing us for the freedom we have to roam on the surface, cursing the dominion he lost over the Underworld. Cronus is bound by seal never to return to the surface or conspire to hurt humans. We in turn agreed not to use our other gifts beyond the most basic power required to ensure the world operates smoothly for the survival of humans. We are all under seals that keep our full abilities restrained."
"But why?" Sakura asked. "If he's trapped up there anyway…? What can he do?"
"To ensure the survival of mortals," Shizune clarified. "That is our priority above all things, to ensure this world thrives as intended. If we were free to use our powers to engage in conflict or do what we wished, then there would be an imbalance of power and consequences. We are all tied by the same oath, enforced by our High Council."
"Who are the High Council?"
"You'll be meeting them soon," Tsunade answered. "They are the Elders charged with ensuring our laws are upheld, and that Cronus never returns to the surface. They have the means to reprimand deities."
"And this Cronus just agreed to the High Council's wishes?" Sakura voiced dubiously. He sounded like a nasty piece of work.
"Not willingly. He had no choice," Ino shrugged. "He can't do anything up there on his own because of the seal placed on him. He didn't want to watch us have full freedom with our powers down on the surface, which would allow mortals to worship and exalt us, the very thing he wanted to wipe out. He probably had his own twisted reasons for agreeing to the truce, but my guess is he'd rather we were all forgotten from history the same way." After a second, she muttered, "Asshole."
Sakura rubbed her forehead. "So what does all this have to do with Kore and this cycle?"
There was yet another long silence. Tsunade then said softly, "Ino. I cannot."
"You found her." Shizune agreed. "Perhaps it is best you take over, Ino-chan."
Ino swallowed and nodded. Gripping Sakura's hand tightly, she took a deep breath, and with great difficulty, began to retell the most painful memory of her immortal life.
Aphrodite fought back tears of frustration. She had searched everywhere once again. There was no forest she, Selene and the troupe of wood nymphs they'd taken with them to find Kore, had not checked, no grove or clearing they'd left unturned.
In a desperate attempt to cover more ground, they had split company. Aphrodite cast a glance back, her heart racing. The horizon was painted with an angry, thunderous sky, an ominous sign of the war that was raging far behind her as Zeus summoned bolt after bolt of crackling lightning.
She'd intended to fight with her friends, with her family – but Demeter had seized her just before they'd set off to battle, pleading with her to use any means she could to locate her missing daughter – to traverse into the Underworld itself if necessary, given that the clan that ruled there was occupied with fighting Cronus's greedy war.
Seeing the way weeks of anguish had ravished the beautiful Demeter's face, Aphrodite had consented, and taken Selene with her to search once more through places they had already checked so many times over. The plan was to rendezvous at the agreed meeting point after searching and enter the Underworld together.
Aphrodite prayed that they would find Kore somewhere on the surface and not be forced to enter that dreaded place. She had only one last direction to cover.
She walked through yet another forest, cloak drawn about her face, armed with a bow and arrow, keeping her eyes and ears closely trained on any sudden movements. Ahead of her flew a trusted dove, warning her of any danger ahead, and behind her, another flittered, watching her back.
Her sandals pressed quietly against the ground – until the earth beneath her feet began to crunch loudly. She looked down, confused – to see that the grass beneath her heels was dried. Shrivelled. Black. When just moments ago, it had been green, plush…
Startled, she looked around her, to see that the grass was changing colour before her very eyes. Gasping, she looked at the trees beside her.
What sorcery was this?
The trees were blackened. No. Not blackened. They were bleeding a black, oozing substance. She reached out, touched the liquid, only to flinch as it singed her gloved fingertip, leaving a trail of smoke.
"What in Zeus's name…" she whispered, when the dove ahead cooed to her, flapping its wings frantically, gesturing its Mistress forward. Aphrodite did not hesitate. Heart hammering against her rib-cage, she ran, following a turn in the line of trees, her eyes darting around her, looking for the source of disturbance, for an explanation of the devastation around her, a reason for the way the forest seemed to be dying before her.
That was when she found her. Bent over in agony on the ground, thin veins blackened beneath ashen skin that had once been a healthy, apricot tan in shade.
Aphrodite screamed, dropping her weapons.
"Kore!" she cried, as her friend writhed in pain. "Kore, what has happened?! Kore!" She fell to the floor beside her friend, reaching out to her, gripping her shoulders, tugging on her to rise, to look at her.
Kore released a howl of anguish, her beautiful pink hair matted with perspiration. Her white dress was torn, bloodied.
Choking back a sob, Aphrodite forced her friend to sit up, and screamed again in despair as she looked upon her face. Kore's irises were white, as if she had been blinded. Blood was oozing from her mouth and nose.
"What has happened to you?" Aphrodite wept, cradling her friend's face. "Kore… Kore, do you see me?"
Kore gasped, her breathing shallow, rapid. "A-A…ph…" she struggled to speak. "H.. he…lp… m…e…"
Aphrodite pressed a hand over her friend's heart, felt it to be erratic in rhythm, and cried out. This was beyond her power of healing. She reached out, touching her friend's mind with her own, seeking the cause of such horror.
It flashed before her mind's eye. A forest grove. A cloaked stranger in the shadows. Crimson eyes. Cronus's cruel smile. Darkness. A prison cell. Hades's cloaked face. Hades taking her by her wrist, leading her to the surface. Her feet on the surface. The grass dying at every step she took.
A painful flash of light severed the connection. Aphrodite wailed, hugging her friend close, seeing the way her hands oozed black liquid anytime she touched the ground. Kore's very touch was poisoning the earth around her, killing it, going against the very purpose of her creation, to give life.
Her body was shutting down, poisoned, trying to stop itself from causing any further damage.
She was dying.
"Please," Aphrodite begged, as a dove flew back to fetch Selene and the nymphs, to get help. "Please hold on, Kore. Please," she watched her friend's face blur out of focus as tears spilled from her eyes. "Please don't leave me! Oh, what have they done to you?!"
"I'm…s-s-so…rry," Kore choked on her blood, coughing, her eyes rolling back in her head as she convulsed in her friend's grasp.
"No," Aphrodite sobbed hopelessly. "No, please, hold on! Don't speak, sister! It will be alright!"
When the fit passed, Kore uttered a single word which made Aphrodite's blood freeze.
"H… Had…es…."
"Hades?" The Goddess of Love repeated incredulously. "He did this? Kore, did he do this to you? Tell me!"
But Kore was convulsing once more, tears spilling from her eyes. Aphrodite cried, rocking her, trying to give her whatever small comfort she could to relieve her torment, even as she knew she was already far too late.
Her friend's body was giving up before her eyes, the life fading from her, like a wilting flower closing in on itself.
Sakura blinked, stunned, as her friend finished her tale. Ino had doubled over, clutching Sakura's hands, sobbing. "I couldn't save you," she wept. "And I have lived every day in regret, hoping one day for your forgiveness. I am…" she broke off distraughtly, "s-so sorry…"
Sakura felt wetness against her cheek and realised that she was crying. The tragic story was sad enough to move anyone to tears – whether Sakura truly believed that the terrible fate had truly befallen her or not. Kore, the Goddess of Spring, had been poisoned. She had died in Ino's arms.
Numbly, Sakura lifted a hand, and place it atop her weeping friend's silky blonde head. Ino slowly sat up, wiping at her eyes, accepting the tissues handed to her by a teary-eyed Shizune.
Tsunade, whose eyes were also red with tears, added, "It was Cronus who did this. He had you kidnapped to the Underworld. Recognising your powers to bring life, he sought to manipulate your gift, to bring death to crops and trees on the surface. He sought to punish humanity for shunning him. I…" she exhaled deeply, slowly. So much time had passed and yet recalling the horrors that had befallen her daughter had never gotten any easier. "When I finally saw your body, it was broken. Your blood poisoned. We could not save you… your heart had already failed. But by the grace of the gods, and through the power of a complex seal known only to a few of us… we were able to keep your soul from passing to the void when it left your body. It remained locked as the Essence of you, fused with your memories and your gift, to allow you to live on again."
"We extracted and purified your poisoned blood," said Shizune. "Your original body succumbed to the venom, but we were able to combine our powers to create a new vessel that could be repeatedly reborn so long as we placed the deceased body and droplets of your blood into the sacred waters we preserved from your ancient temple. The vessels house your Essence, so that you are not lost forever. So that spring time can remain on the surface, so that the gift of life can prevail."
"And these attacks…?"
"They occur because the seal on you prevents your Essence from fully uniting with your body, your blood, your memories, and recognising your body as its true form. Over time, the Essence rejects your body, thinking it to be just a temporary host as it seeks its true immortal form… those are the attacks you experience," Tsunade said.
"But why?" Sakura demanded. "Why does the seal prevent that from happening? Why were memories sealed too?"
"We do not know why." Shizune said "It must have been the price to pay when the seal was woven, that prevented you from remembering the trauma that befell you. We have tried every way to trigger your memories. But they always return to you gradually in the form of dreams. There is nothing we can do to make you remember everything. Each time, your body eventually fails. You are born again, and the cycle starts over. We do not know why your memories are gone. And the only one who might have known, Zeus, is lost to us."
Tsunade murmured something to Shizune, who nodded and left the room.
Turning back to Sakura, her mother said quietly, "I have lost you countless times. I have watched you suffer over and over. Tried everything in my power to stop it, to change your fate. Forgive me for being overprotective. For sheltering you. For keeping this from you. But I have tried to be open, I have tried to tell you everything before. It never gets easier. Each time it feels as though it's the first time you have heard this. But I have spoken these words so many times to you, Sakura. All I wanted was to protect you, to save you, my child."
In that moment, Sakura saw the unbearable anguish on her mother's face. The pain she must have endured, watching her daughter submit to the same curse, the same cycle of rebirth that was doomed to end with her death. She never knew when. It could not be stopped. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent it.
It was an awful burden to accept. And Sakura now understood why her mother had kept it from her. She had only wanted to do what she thought was best for her. To not overwhelm her with things she could not remember. To let her lead as normal a life as possible. To let her live as happily as possible.
And Sakura had been happy… until…
Until Sasuke had taken her to his world, and turned everything she knew upside down.
Shizune returned with what looked like a large keepsake box. She placed it on Sakura's bed, and Sakura twisted the key in the lock, lifting it curiously. She gasped at what she saw inside. Countless photos, some she recognised, some that looked like they appeared from a far-off dream, were kept within the box. Locks of pastel pink hair, dark pink-hair, strawberry blonde, tiny handprints, slips of paper with child written notes, little childhood trinkets, photos of her mother and a little girl who resembled Sakura in childhood, but with slightly different hair colour, darker eyes, each one a slight variation, but inherently similar.
Sakura sifted through the photos in fascinated awe. This was her. In so many different lifetimes, surrounded by an infant Naruto, an infant Ino, an infant Hinata, and other friends she recognised.
"We'd change physical forms, to keep you company in each lifetime," Ino whispered, smiling in sad memory as she looked down at the photos in Sakura's hands. In each picture, Sakura looked slightly different – but the joy in her eyes was the same. The way she looked so adoringly up at her mother.
Sakura felt fresh tears spill down her cheeks as she continued to sift through the box. Knowing what her fate had been, what it now still was…
"Each time, we have had to keep your true identity hidden," Tsunade spoke in a hushed voice. "We have to make it appear as if you were merely a sentimental reincarnation of a goddess that long passed. That though you may resemble her in form, you are nothing but a mortal child."
"But doesn't Cronus see everything from up… there?" Sakura gestured to the ceiling. "Wouldn't he know I'm your daughter, wouldn't he know I have attacks and wonder why?"
"He has an all-seeing eye, but he cannot see all." Tsunade shook her head. "His field of perception is limited due to the seal placed upon him. But he has eyes on the surface, of that we are certain. Such as that traitor, Kabuto…"
"The junior doctor?" Sakura was surprised. Was everyone she had ever come into contact with, somehow a part of this crazy supernatural web in which she had become entangled?
"Yes," Shizune confirmed. "We believe he may have stolen samples of your blood."
"He is using them to help grow some grotesque creatures. This is why we had to keep you hidden." Tsunade pursed her lips. "If Cronus or his spies were to realise that you hold the true Essence of Spring within you, and somehow found a way to extract your Essence and reverse the seal, they would have the power of creation in their hands… and you, my child… you would be lost, forever."
"Is there no way to remove the seal?" Sakura asked. She meant it in the context of allowing the deceased goddess to be fully reborn as an immortal, with no restrictions on her powers.
"We've tried every seal we know. Nothing has worked."
"But there must be a way," Sakura frowned.
"We have not yet found it," her mother answered.
"And the… visions I have?" Sakura pressed on. "They're increasing."
Another wave of pain washed over Tsunade's face. "They always do… along with the attacks."
"And then?" Sakura's heart raced. "What happens? Do I ever remember everything?"
"Without the removal of the seal, you can never regain your full memories. They are just fragments you see in dreams…" Shizune stated.
"I have had this conversation with you so many times," Tsunade said. "So many times I have told you your fate, only to watch the same end. There is nothing we can do to stop you passing, to stop you being reborn again, living again, where you begin to remember, only for the Essence to reject your mortal body once more, until the burden is too much to take…"
Her voice trailed off. There was a long silence, in which realisation smashed into Sakura, chasing the grogginess out of her head, as stark, harsh reality sunk in.
"I'm going to die…" she whispered, unable to fight back the fine tremors that shook her body. "That's what you meant by rebirth. I live… and I die because there's no way to break the cycle."
The continued silence that met her ears confirmed it.
Nobody knew when. Or how. But it would inevitably happen. It was an awful realisation to come to terms with.
"Had I known," Tsunade's voice wavered. "Had I know this Fate would befall you, that you would suffer so, perhaps it would have been kinder to allow your soul to pass back then-"
She broke off and abruptly got up. It was clear to Sakura that her mother could bear no more as she exited the room. Shizune cast a regretful look at Sakura, then followed after Tsunade.
Where she had harboured anger and resentment before, Sakura now understood that her mother must have tried every way to save her, to help her. She had suffered terribly too. Sakura supposed in a way it was for the best that she could never remember her fate each time she was reborn. It was enough to drive anyone insane, knowing they were doomed to live, only to die.
Death. The thought of Sasuke entered her mind. She wondered if he could somehow help. If there was any way the cycle could end differently this time, if his involvement held any influence over the matter. After all, though against the natural order, he did have the power to at least stall souls, or send them back – to keep a heart beating until it was time for a soul to depart.
They'd alluded that she'd never been in the Underworld since her original life. Could it be more than a mere coincidence then that she'd come across Sasuke again this time? Was there maybe any hope at all, that Sakura could somehow find a way this time to break the cycle?
Alone with Ino, she finally asked the questions that had been weighing heavily on her mind, which she had chosen not to voice in front of her mother.
Perhaps it was partly because it was clear to Sakura just how much Tsunade detested the Underworld's King.
"Ino," she said quietly. "Is this really the first time I've been in the Underworld again? Since…" she felt odd saying it out loud, when she didn't remember a thing – only visions that seemed to be old film reels in her mind, that held no emotions associated with ordinary memories. "Since back then?" she finished.
"Yes," Ino affirmed.
"And…" Sakura inhaled deeply. "Sasuke…? I've never met him again, until now?"
Ino looked at her in surprise. Hesitantly, she asked, "Have you… seen visions of him? I mean," she lowered her voice, "how much have you seen?"
"I've seen them," Sakura fumbled, embarrassed. "I mean like together. I know that Kore, uh… well she had a thing for him."
Ino looked regretful. "Yeah," she whispered. Then she hesitated again, before venturing, "Does he know who you are? I mean he kidnapped you, right? So he knows something. We all thought he did it to get back at us somehow, at least that's what Suigetsu said."
Sakura's cheeks burned. Suigetsu had said what? Of course the wily ocean deity had sought to make himself appear like the good guy, after the stunt he tried to pull at the end of their he knew damn well that wasn't why Sasuke had taken her! He'd kidnapped her because-
Because he's in love with you, her inner voice whispered helpfully to her, making her flush a deeper shade of crimson. He hadn't been, at first. It had taken Sakura a long time to accept and believe that he was.
At least, he had… before she'd betrayed him. Now with the way things had been left hanging in the air between them, Sakura was sure Sasuke had to hate her.
Perhaps it was for the best, Sakura silently reasoned, that everyone believed Suigetsu's version of events.
"No," she shook her head. "He doesn't think I'm Kore. He just thinks I'm a human host carrying the fragment of Kore. That's what he told me."
"Of course," Ino muttered under her breath.
"Huh?" Sakura heard it, and pressed, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Ino waved a hand. "He's heartless, of course he'd forget you."
Sakura looked at her. "Why doesn't he remember? I mean I have a seal on me… what about him? Does he have one too?"
Ino was silent. Finally, she shrugged.
Sakura was no fool. She knew when Ino appeared to be hiding something.
"Ino?" she reached for her friend's arm.
"I couldn't tell you," Ino insisted, and this time she looked sincere. "You have to believe me. If you say he has no memory, then that's surely only something he can explain?"
Sakura wasn't certain she was entirely convinced, but pressed on, her heart thundering, "So it's true… that," she couldn't say I this time, "Kore loved him?"
Ino squeezed her hands, casting a nervous look back at the door which Shizune had closed behind her. Turning back to Sakura, she whispered fiercely, "I promised you back then, I would never tell your mother of what happened between you both. I never have, and I never will. Anytime you've let it slip in any lifetime, I've covered for you. You won't remember…" her baby-blue eyes watered with fresh tears, "but I kept my word to you. It was something you wanted nobody else to ever know. Not even Naruto."
Sakura was silent for another long minute.
Anger passed over her friend's face – anger and pain. "He's the reason why all this happened to you to begin with. You know that, right? I don't know what he's told you or what happened while you were down there, but don't trust him for a minute."
Confused, Sakura met her friend's gaze, as she finally returned all the photos to the keepsake box.
"Ino…" she began slowly. "What do you mean? You told me Cronus poisoned Kore."
"Cronus poisoned you," she agreed. "But it was Hades who must've told Cronus about you."
Sakura's lips parted in shock. Hades… Sasuke… had betrayed Kore?
She struggled to understand, as Sasuke's dark eyes flashed across her memory. His smirk. The look of pain in his eyes when she had betrayed him. "How can you be sure about that?"
Ino gestured, "You were kidnapped. We don't know which Uchiha took you, but how else had Cronus found out about your gifts? Hades was the one you'd been seeing. Put two and two together. Had you remained in the Underworld where they kidnapped you, we could have maybe found a way to reverse the poison. But it was set to activate the moment you set foot on the surface again. It was all part of Cronus's plan, and Hades was loyal to his family." She shook her head, looking bitter, hurt, furious and unforgiving. "He used you, Sakura. He wanted to swing the war in his family's favour, don't you see that?"
Sakura's heart was pounding so fast, she half-feared she would faint. It made perfect sense, of course. It gave her even more reason to hate Sasuke for everything he had done to her.
And yet a nagging whisper in her mind appealed that Ino couldn't be sure. She had only found Kore poisoned. She couldn't have been certain that Hades was directly responsible for Cronus finding out about Kore's powers. If he had been, why had he pushed Kore away? Wouldn't it have made more sense to continue to seduce her, to make her trust him more, to make kidnapping her so much easier?
If what Ino was saying was true, then why had Sasuke kidnapped her then? If his heart was incapable of any warmth, if he'd really betrayed her somehow in ages long past, then why in the world would he actively pursue her when he finally found her again? When he claimed to have no memory of her?
There seemed to be a big chunk of information missing, something that didn't quite add up. Somehow, someway, she had to find out what that was.
Sakura rubbed stressfully at her temples. It was all a big mess. She needed time to think, to make sense of everything once she was alone again.
She heard footsteps thudding down the hallway, and her bedroom door was thrown open, abruptly cutting off her conversation with Ino.
Naruto stared at Sakura with wide cerulean eyes.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" he exclaimed loudly.
In a flash he'd bounded over, grabbed her and lifted her off the bed in a huge, enveloping bear hug that made Sakura screech in surprise.
Ino rose, signalling to Naruto that she'd give him a minute, and exited the room, closing the door shut behind her.
"N-Naruto!" Sakura sputtered, as he squeezed her so tight, she felt her bones were almost being crushed. "Put me down!"
"S-sorry, Sakura-chan!" he apologised profusely, setting her down on the floor, looking her over anxiously, his face as expressive as always.
He was the polar opposite of Sasuke, who was reserved, aloof, ice-cold when it came to dealing with people. Naruto was sunshine, warmth, light.
"Sakura-chan," he placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Are you ok? Did that bastard hurt you? I'll break every bone in his goddamned body- owwwch!" he howled, as Sakura abruptly punched him in the stomach.
"What the… hell… Sakura-chan…?" he doubled over, wincing. He couldn't recall her punches being that strong.
"Idiot!" Sakura fought back tears, overwhelmed by both how good it felt to see her dear friend again – and also that he'd kept the fact that he was the son of the King of the surface gods from her. "You didn't tell me who you really were! You kept it from me, too!"
Naruto straightened up. "Who told you?"
"Sasuke first, and my mother, Ino and Shizune just confirmed it."
Naruto's shoulders dropped and he exhaled a huge sigh of relief. "Man… that old granny Baa-chan sure took her time. We wanted to tell you years ago but she always told us to- ouch!" he protested again, as Sakura took him by his earlobe and sat him down on the edge of the bed.
"Huh?" Naruto rubbed at his ear. "Sakura-chaaan," he pouted. "Aren't you even glad to see me a little?"
Sakura rolled her eyes and sat beside him on the bed. "Of course I am," she conceded. Then sighing deeply, she turned to meet his gaze.
"So, son of the King of the Gods, huh?"
Naruto pointed proudly at himself with his thumb, giving her what she supposed was meant to be some sort of heroic smile. "That's me, dattebayo!"
"Geeze…" Sakura muttered. "This is just crazy."
"You're really alright, Sakura-chan?" Naruto dropped the goofy act, turning fully to face her. "I mean… tell me he didn't hurt you."
"He didn't hurt me." Sakura paused, before adding, "Physically."
Naruto looked relieved.
"But how did I get back here?" Sakura asked him.
"He let you go," Naruto answered simply.
Sakura stared at him, stunned. "What? Just like that? But I betrayed him. I poisoned him-"
"You what?" Naruto's jaw dropped in equal disbelief.
"I was trying to escape with Suigetsu. So I poisoned him to buy us time to do that."
Naruto looked at her in bewilderment. "We'd already agreed the terms for your release, Sakura-chan. You didn't need to do that."
"I didn't know," she defended. She'd had no clue that Sasuke had been about to release her willingly.
"You poisoned him? Well the bastard deserved it for what he did," Naruto chuckled. "That's so bad-ass, Sakura-chan." He nudged Sakura playfully.
Sakura supposed it was – even though she felt no sense of pride over what she'd done, however well deserved it had been.
"I can't believe he just let me go after what I did," Sakura mused. "You mean he just handed me over?"
"Ero-sennin Jiraiya, Kakashi-sensei and I met him at the entrance to the Underworld. You were unconscious, and he handed you over to Kakashi-sensei. We brought you back home."
"You said you agreed conditions for my release. What are they?" she asked.
"That he won't interfere with your surface life anymore." Naruto's eyes steeled over with resolve. "He's given his word and I'll make damn sure he keeps it. You don't need to worry about a thing any more, Sakura-chan."
"If you made an agreement," Sakura argued, "then you must have offered something back. Tell me, Naruto!"
"We agreed he'd not be called to the High Council." Naruto answered. "But," he winced. "We've not yet talked Tsunade Baa-chan around on the idea, yet."
"Oh," Sakura imagined her mother would be fuming. "That's all? What about the pomegranate seeds I ate?"
An unreadable look passed over Naruto's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had surfaced. "Like I said," he repeated, meeting her gaze directly. "You don't need to worry about a thing. Leave it to me, Sakura-chan."
Sakura looked into his blue eyes, and elbowed him in his side. She'd make sure she got her answers… but later. For now, she just wanted the chance to enjoy the company of her family and friends again, a chance to process everything, to rest and heal as best she could – before she planned out what she would do next with all the information she had been given.
"Idiot," she muttered affectionately, and rested her head on his shoulder, relieved to be home at last.
Barely suppressed sobs wracked through her body, as she cried silently over the sink. Ino had left Sakura's room and locked herself straight in the bathroom, overwhelmed with so many conflicting emotions. Relief. Anger. Happiness. Sadness.
Crushing guilt.
She'd only told Sakura part of the story when she'd discovered Kore's poisoned body. A significant part she never had uttered to another soul, and never would. It drifted through her memory, stabbing her heart with fresh pain that made the tears flood faster.
Kore's body had grown still in her arms. She heard the crunching of leaves under foot behind her, released a choked sob, expecting to find Selene or one of the other nymphs.
"Please help me," she began, her entire body shaking violently, her hands covered with Kore's blood. "Please fetch-" she broke off, sucking in a sharp breath, as she looked up, surprised to find none other than the very man whose name her friend had struggled to utter.
Why was he not on the battlefield? Her mind spun. She felt sick as Hades, clothed entirely in black with his sword drawn, stared down at Kore with wide eyes. He looked stunned. As if he was looking down upon an apparition. He stood, frozen to the spot, unable to tear his gaze from the wounded goddess.
Aphrodite felt a rage unlike anything she had ever experienced blaze to life in her veins as Kore grew still in her arms. Hugging her close, she screamed at Hades, "YOU! It was YOU, wasn't it?! YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! YOU TOOK HER!"
That seemed to snap Hades out of his trance. He appeared to notice Aphrodite for the first time. He shook his head slightly. "I-" he began shortly. "I wasn't- I tried to-" he stepped forward, and Aphrodite swiped savagely with an arm to ward him off, a bright arc of hallowed golden light assaulting him, forcing him backward.
"Stay back!" she screamed. "STAY BACK! You will not touch her! By the gods I will see to it that your heart will know NOTHING but emptiness! YOU MONSTER!"
Hades opened his mouth to speak – when the sound of more footsteps caused Aphrodite to tense once more and look ahead of her.
A masked man slipped out from between the trees, and Aphrodite hugged Kore closer, wailing anew in grief, shaking her head as she recognised the tall, imposing individual instantly.
It was over. Kore had already become cold and lifeless in her arms.
Death had come to collect her.
"We must be quick," a soothing voice stated, as another masked individual stepped out after the first.
Hypnos, Ino recognised, and recoiled, hugging Kore's motionless body tighter as the first individual began to advance toward them.
"No," she cried. "Please! I beg of you! Let her live!"
To her utter astonishment, Hades stepped between them.
The rest of the memory faded out from her mind. Weeping deeper, Ino looked at her reflection in the mirror, parted her lips open, to look upon the true reason why she had not told Sakura the rest. The real reason she was unable to ever speak what she knew to anyone else, unable to share the terrible burden she had carried since that fateful moment when she'd come to find her best friend dying in the forest.
The single-lettered seal glowed faintly under her tongue, swearing her to eternal secrecy.
Author's Note
The following chapters will be transition ones. I'd love to know your thoughts so please leave a review if you feel so kindly inclined about this one and I'll begin working on the next as soon as I can! Thank you to those of you who stayed on board and continued reading!