Thanks to everyone who left their feedback for the last chapter. This one will involve a small time-skip just so we're all aware. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter LIII
She will invent little lies,
To push away the memory of his eyes.
To extinguish the fire deep inside,
But from her own thoughts, she cannot hide.
Sakura landed with a dull thud on the mat, wincing in discomfort. She exhaled, trying to catch her breath, her entire body aching from exertion.
"Once more," Tsunade instructed, holding up her padded-glove fists in a defensive stance, gesturing to her daughter to rise to her feet once more.
Sakura groaned in protest. Her mother was a strict, relentless teacher who didn't take it easy on her at all. Just like someone else I know, she thought momentarily, recalling the gruelling sparring sessions she'd endured in the Underworld.
She'd undertaken enough training sessions over her months of captivity to build endurance beyond a mere beginner's abilities. But over forty minutes of physical sparring was starting to take its toll on Sakura's body and all she wanted to do was rest.
The basement of their home had been transformed into a combination gym and training room, containing various work-out equipment and mats. As well as studying basic healing techniques, Sakura had also participated in several fighting sessions with her mother, some with Kakashi, and had even sparred a few times with Naruto. She'd picked up different combat techniques to those Sasuke had taught her; closer-range, hand-to-hand ones as opposed to sword-fighting. She felt confident enough to disarm a sudden attack, even if she was unarmed herself.
Dragging herself back to her feet, Sakura raised her fists and the two women circled each other once again.
"Remember to keep your eyes at shoulder level," Tsunade reminded her, as Sakura automatically looked up at her mother's face. "You need to anticipate what the hands do, but also not be caught off guard by any leg attacks."
"Right," Sakura nodded, lowering her gaze – just as Tsunade swiped at her with a closed fist. Sakura blocked it with her right arm, then parried with her left as her mother followed up with a quick jab.
"Good," Tsunade nodded in approval. "Now again, quicker."
They repeated the motions several times, until Tsunade finished by unexpectedly sweeping Sakura's legs right out from underneath her, making her land straight back on the mat.
"Ouch!" she protested.
Tsunade rolled her eyes affectionately. "You're getting better. But you need to be faster, more alert."
"I'm doing my best," Sakura huffed, sitting back up. "But my body gets tired."
"That's to be expected," Tsunade crouched down in front of her daughter. "The seal keeps your full chakra-reserve repressed. But you've already shown a great ability to control what you can call upon, and an affinity to healing." Taking off her gloves, the goddess reached around her neck and pulled off the thin chain she wore. Sakura saw that it contained a small crystal shaped pendant at the end, which was pale blue in hue.
Tsunade held it out to her daughter.
"What's this?" Sakura questioned, as she accepted it.
"A chakra crystal," Tsunade explained. "As a backup. In the event you ever exhaust what chakra you can call upon within your body, always carry a bottle of ambrosia to fuel you, and if that fails you, tap into this. I've filled it with a concentrated stream of my own chakra that you'll be able to channel into your body."
"How?" Sakura stared at it in awe.
"Just as you would call upon your internal chakra. Focus on the source, concentrate, and you'll be able to draw it out of the crystal, and manipulate it."
"Can I place it back the same way?"
"Yes." Tsunade nodded. "Try now."
Sakura fastened the necklace around her neck and focused on the crystal, holding it in her hand. She imagined the chakra stream within in her mind as a steady flow of energy, which she could draw upon and tug out with her mind, through her hand, to the rest of her body…
She felt a wave of coolness wash from her fingertips, down through her arm, and up the rest of her body.
"Very good," Tsunade looked impressed. She would never admit it, but it seemed that the Uchiha brat had at least taught her child something useful in the form of chakra control. Aloud, she added, "When chakra is readily available, you're able to channel it almost immediately. Now," she gestured. "Try and return it the same way into the crystal."
"How will I know when the crystal is full or depleted?"
"What did you feel when you drew it out?"
"Like…" Sakura wriggled her fingers. "Kind of like a coolness."
"You'll feel resistance. Like you can't pull or push with your mind anymore."
"Ok," Sakura nodded, and concentrated, directing chakra back into the pendant. At first. It rippled smoothly. Sure enough, she eventually began to feel resistance. At that point, she couldn't "push" anymore chakra back into the crystal.
"It holds a small amount," Tsunade said. "So use it only in an emergency, and sparingly. Once it empties, I'll refill it. This is merely chakra you can borrow. Never exhaust yourself to the point you have none. It could be dangerous."
Sakura nodded. It was a reassuring back-up – even if it was one she hoped she'd never have to use.
"Thank you, mother," she said earnestly.
Tsunade reached out and squeezed her hand in a brief moment of tenderness in response.
Several hours later, Sakura sat at her windowsill ledge, holding a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hand as she stared out at the falling rain beyond the cool glass. Dressed in a cosy, oversized, fluffy white jumper that reached below her bare knees, with her feet tucked warmly in woolly grey socks, she listened with welcome ears to the gentle pitter-patter of water droplets as they hit against the glass. Winter appeared to have well and truly set in – though news reports were quick to announce that it seemed to have arrived alarmingly earlier than usual, with autumn lasting only a few weeks.
Taking a sip of her hot drink, Sakura wondered if the season's premature timing had anything to do with her disappearance earlier in the year. It seemed very likely. It was a surreal sensation, being conscious of the fact that she was responsible for influencing the smooth transition of seasons.
Being back on the surface had made her see lots of things in a new light, had made her wonder about many things.
She looked down at the journal in her hand. Over two months had passed since her return to the surface and she'd taken to keeping a diary to help process the frequent whirl of her thoughts. To help her deal with everything that had changed in her life, so unexpectedly. She kept the journal strictly locked, the key looped on a bracelet she always wore on her wrist. There were things in it she could never tell anyone, her most private, personal thoughts and honest musings. The diary was hidden away in her room in turn, in a place she had made sure nobody would find. But just to make sure, in case her mother walked in on her writing in it, she'd labelled the book "Study Notes" to cover her back and kept pages of old academic notes which she'd quickly flip to if disturbed during scrawling.
Opening a fresh page in the journal, she bit thoughtfully on the lid of the pen in her hand, looking back out at the falling rain, before she began to write.
Sunday October 25th 2015
Dear Diary,
I'm sorry it's been a while since I've had time to write. But I've finally started medical school! I'm so happy! This has always been my dream and I can't believe it's FINALLY happening!
So much has happened in the past two months and I've worked so hard to catch up with everything. I feel incredibly lucky to have even been able to start my studies this term, thanks to Ms. Yuhi pulling strings with some contacts across at the Central University of Medicine. I missed the first couple of weeks of the new semester waiting for my final grades to come through after taking my Academy exams at the end of September, but my tutors have been so understanding and accommodating. Can you believe this? The Examination Board said because I scored 100% in ALL my finals at the Academy, they'd make an exception for me to enrol late due to mitigating circumstances and I've even been granted a SCHOLARSHIP to study!
I can't tell you how excited I am, Diary!
I was so SO worried I'd have to repeat the entire year, or defer entry until the following spring. Luckily, it's all worked out okay and I'm ready to go. I'm taking extra classes to catch up with what I've missed and my tutors have been so kind to send me all the content from the first couple of weeks to go over. I'll be taking my first set of medical exams in December… fingers crossed!
Ms. Yuhi- I mean Kurenai – has been so amazing and helpful. It's funny I have to keep reminding myself to call her Kurenai. It still all feels so strange, knowing who she is, who all my friends and my mother really are.
Who I really am.
Chewing on her pen lid again, Sakura considered a moment, before carrying on.
It's crazy to think how I've probably written in a journal like this before in past lives I can't even remember. So crazy that sometimes I still want to freak out about it. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping at night because I overthink things. But I have to stay rational and take each day as it comes. I'm hoping with university and hospital work, I'll be exhausted enough to knock out every night from now on. It'll be a welcome distraction, that's for sure.
I haven't been having any dreams for the past few weeks. Naruto says maybe that's a good thing; maybe my body is used to being back on the surface and I'm stabilising. He's always so optimistic.
But Mother isn't so sure. She's always on edge, always so alert. Always asking me how I'm feeling. Like I'm a ticking time-bomb. I guess in many ways, that's exactly what I am. I can't blame her for worrying. I'm just grateful to wake up every morning.
Besides university and returning to volunteer at the hospital, I've been training with Mother, Kakashi and Naruto. I can't channel all that much of my own chakra right now because of the limiting effects of the seal placed on me, but ambrosia helps me with it, and I've learnt how to draw chakra from the necklace mother gave me, which I wear at all times now. I've also learnt basic healing when necessary. I can heal cuts, or a bruise. I have to be careful never to use it in public, though, in front of ordinary people. Aunt Shizune says we never know who is watching.
Next mother will show me how to brew some healing medicine. I'm really looking forward to that.
Pushing back a lock of pastel pink hair that had come loose from her messy ponytail, Sakura finished the rest of her hot chocolate and readjusted her position on the ledge, before returning absorbedly to her diary writing.
Mother's also been teaching me some self-defense. If I channel light chakra flow into my arms and legs, I can hit things with harder force – in calculated places where I can fracture bones. She's taught me all about pressure points, how to break choke-holds, how to escape from different scenarios and how to block attacks. Mother also told me that without her seal, she could smash through rocks like a hot knife through butter! I was amazed. I wonder how powerful she is at full strength?
Ino told me that once Mother had gotten so angry she'd upturned large chunks of earth from the ground itself. My mother is SUCH a badass! If I could be even half as strong as her…
Kakashi has taught me hand-to-hand combat and a few more sword techniques. I found out from Naruto, that he used to teach him and Sasuke a long time ago. They'd all been sparring partners way back before the war. Both Kakashi and Naruto seem so sad when they speak about him… I still need to ask Naruto about what exactly happened with him and Sasuke when I catch him alone.
Sasuke…
Her pen lingered on the final character in the death deity's name as she exhaled slowly.
I try not to think about him. But… Sakura lifted her head, frowning out at the darkness beyond the window for a moment, before continuing to scrawl …but every time night falls, I can't help it. Any time I look out at the darkness at night, I remember him. I remember his Kingdom, the beautiful and frightening world he showed me. I remember Ume and Chizu, Eos, and everyone else I met. Sometimes, I wonder what they're doing now. What he's doing now. If he can see me like he could before - or if he's still so angry like he was when we parted. Maybe he agreed to a year because he's in no hurry to see me again. My betrayal must have changed everything.
But I wonder what'll happen when we meet again. I wonder if there's any way I can contact him, though it's been made clear to me that it's been agreed we won't have any contact while I'm on the surface.
Do I really want to? I don't know what I'd say, though I have so many questions.
Just thinking about him makes me feel…
Sakura paused, then scratched out the last three words and set her pen down in frustration. Anytime she began writing about Sasuke, she'd cross out her thoughts when it came to her feelings about him. She wasn't yet ready to pen them.
Sakura wondered, as she hastily closed and locked the diary, if she ever would be.
Tsunade paused outside her daughter's room. It was past midnight and the door was slightly ajar. She could see that the light from the bedside table-lamp was still on. Peering through the opening, she saw that Sakura was curled up on the bed, and had fallen fast asleep, the bed covers only drawn part way up her bare legs.
It had been a repeated habit over many lifetimes, Tsunade had observed; Sakura, falling asleep, her duvet not drawn up fully over her curled body, with a book by her face.
Smiling slightly, her mother exhaled a soft, affectionate sigh and entered the room, removing the study textbook from Sakura's loose grip. She knew the book was surely enough to put anyone to sleep with its medical jargon. Drawing the covers higher up to her child's shoulders, Tsunade watched her daughter a moment, gently removing a stray lock of rose hair away from Sakura's face. She had truly grown so beautiful, reminded Tsunade so much of her original form and she found herself momentarily overwhelmed by a surge of fierce maternal love. Then she turned the light off and quietly left the room.
Returning to the kitchen where Shizune was washing up the remains of their late night drink, Tsunade stifled a yawn.
"We'd better get some rest. We have surgery to perform at the hospital in the morning."
Shizune nodded, drying her hands. "Will Sakura-chan be accompanying us?"
"She volunteers in the mornings, yes. Her classes are in the afternoon."
"She seems to be getting on so well at the university. She's such an intelligent girl."
"Yes," Tsunade agreed. She had been filled with anxiety at the start, and still worried about her daughter studying at a large medical university all on her own. It was difficult to kick her over-protective habits, especially after Sakura's kidnapping, although teaching her daughter, alongside Ino, basic medical jutsu and how to defend herself had definitely helped Tsunade to relax a little.
Fortunately, both Kurenai and Shizune offered part-time lectures on alternating days at the university too, and so Tsunade's mind was reassured knowing that Sakura had someone there if she ever needed anyone.
She had also grown to trust Sakura being independent a lot more. Her daughter seemed less timid, much more responsible, stayed in touch throughout the day, and Tsunade knew she could rely on her to communicate if anything were to happen. Being open about things meant that they had established a good understanding between them. Now that Sakura had reached adulthood, it made no sense to wrap her up in cotton wool any further, not knowing everything that she did. She knew the girl would only resent her. In the past, she'd never questioned it, because she'd never made it to her current age. Tsunade's instinct to hide Sakura from the world was strong, but her instinct to let her daughter live, to give her a fighting chance, to educate her to try and help herself and to protect herself, was stronger.
Still, it hadn't been an easy transition for Tsunade, letting Sakura step out into the unknown and gain more independence, and she worried, every single day, about Sakura's fate. About the next attack. About what would happen to her child now that she was tied to the Underworld, if a fatal attack were to occur? What if it were to happen at the University? She'd given her emergency shots of Ambrosia to carry around, but what if they weren't enough to subdue an attack?
She wondered if that was where Sasuke's involvement would come in, and her hands closed into tight fists. He'd agreed to help keep her daughter alive, but that didn't mean she approved of him or wanted him anywhere near Sakura after what he had done. His family were the entire reason why Sakura had ended up poisoned to begin with, after all. Specifically, him… the one who resided in Olympus, barred from ever setting foot on the surface again. The monster once known to mortals as Cronus.
There was no use in worrying too far ahead into the future, Tsunade knew, as Shizune wished her goodnight, flipped the kitchen light off and made her way to the spare bedroom she stayed in when she slept over.
They had to take every day as it came, because nothing was guaranteed when it came to the instability of the Essence of Spring.
She saw bright stars blazing in a cloudless night sky. Laying on the grass, she gazed up at them in contentment, her hair sprawled out behind her, pretty flowers laced in her hands. Her eyes tracked the constellations, admiring their ancient beauty, knowing each one told its own story – when abruptly, they all winked out, and she found herself staring up at pitch-blackness.
Alarmed, she immediately sat up, confused, looking down at the flowers in her hands. They had withered. The grass around her had vanished.
She was enveloped in endless darkness.
Gulping, she jumped up to her feet, her heart racing. Her body knew the darkness. Every inch of her was painfully on edge, painfully alert, every nerve-ending hyper-stimulated, waiting, expecting…
Was he here? Had he come for her?
Then she felt it. The fleeting warmth of a breath ghosting by her left ear. She froze and spun to find nothing. Was she imagining it? Was anyone there at all? She could see nobody in the shadows. All she could hear was the thundering of her heart as the blood roared through her ears.
And then all at once the shadows were closing in around her. She could feel them seeping onto her skin, looked down to see them physically wrapping around her arms, slender, icy tendrils of misty blackness that seemed to evaporate only to re-emerge. Like cool liquid water they rippled up, embracing her, closing around her throat.
Sakura's chest heaved with terror when they seemed to flow right into her ears.
'We are the shadesss of the Underworld,' distant, echoing voices whispered to her. 'You can see usss now.'
The voices spoke over one another, deafening in their echoes. Sakura tried to claw the shadows off her, but they merely laughed in mirth at her struggles.
'You are part of usss now. We are in your blood…'
They closed over her eyes, so that even the blackness was gone, leaving behind nothingness, nothing but emptiness and fear.
With a gasp Sakura bolted upright in bed, her forehead covered in a sheen of cold sweat, her heart hammering in her chest. She blinked rapidly, panicking when she saw nothing but darkness, her mind disorientated, the dream lingering… only to slowly relax when her vision adjusted and she found herself safely in her room, in her home.
Exhaling, she collapsed back in bed, rubbing at her face.
She'd not had any dreams for weeks. Had they come back? But this hadn't seemed to be a vision of any sort from her past.
She'd simply had a nightmare.
Groaning softly, she rolled out of bed, squinting at the time. It was just past 3:40AM. She couldn't even recall falling asleep. The book she had been reading was on her bedside table and the lamp had been switched off. She supposed her mother had come in and done that.
Padding quietly to the bathroom, she locked the door shut, and went over to the sink, keeping the bathroom light off. She'd awoken with a headache and didn't want to aggravate her eyes. Switching on the tap, she filled the basin with water and washed her face, willing her heart-rate to settle. Then she stood up, patting her face dry, and stared for a long moment at the shadowy silhouette of her reflection, illuminated only by the night's darkness beyond the bathroom windows.
"Was it you?" she whispered to her reflection, her heart beginning to quicken in its rhythm again as she wondered whether it was wise to tempt fate, whether it was a good idea to do this in the middle of the night.
She'd thought about it often over the last two months… but had not attempted to communicate with Sasuke in any way. She wondered, now, if he could hear her. If he was watching. If he knew when she called him.
"Did you send me that dream…?" she continued in a hushed voice. "About the shades? What did they mean, that I can "see" them?" She paused, before adding hesitantly, "Can you- would you- if I told you I had questions… could you answer them? Would you even…?"
Her voice trailed off. Only silence greeted her. There was nobody else with her in the bathroom – and nothing but her reflection stared right back at her. Feeling stupid, and frustrated, Sakura reached out to pull the plug from the sink.
'Sure, I can answer you,' a voice replied cheerfully in her head.
Sakura's hand flew away from the sink and she had to bite back the surprised scream that almost leapt from her throat. Almost choking in her effort to remain silent, her eyes bulged as the water turned a luminous turquoise in the sink, and Suigetsu's grinning face appeared.
"What the hell-?" Sakura hissed, both horrified and furious at once.
Suigetsu's bright eyes glittered mischievously up at her. 'Oh, my bad. Were you expecting someone else to answer?'
'What are you doing here?' Sakura demanded indignantly.
'Aw. Not happy to see me? That's no way to speak to your saviour.' Suigetsu feigned mock-hurt.
'Like hell you are! You were going to kidnap me, too!'
'Details. I told you. I was going to just make sure I got the sword and then had every intention of returning you home. You got your pretty head in a twist over nothing and being thrown back into my Oceans by that old hag was not cool.'
'Served you right,' Sakura glared. 'Anyway, Sasuke let me go himself, so you're lucky you even got your stupid sword at all.'
'It's NOT stupid. It's a collector's special edition sword, I'll have you know. And so I heard. What a chivalrous bastard he is, eh?' The sea deity rolled his eyes in exasperation.
'Why are you here?' Sakura asked again.
'You want answers to your questions, isn't that why you called?' He smiled slyly up at her. 'I know who you were really calling, and here's a newsflash for ya, Pinky – he won't answer. He probably wants nothing more to do with you; that's why he gave you a year. At least, that's what Karin thinks. Haha!'
Sakura gawked down at the Ocean God's smiling face, speechless. She fumbled in confusion. 'What?'
'Don't think he did it out of compassion.' Suigetsu snorted. 'That sentiment doesn't exist on his constipated emotional spectrum.' He seemed to find this hilarious, and sniggered to himself.
'Shut up!' Sakura mentally snapped at him. 'I don't want to talk to you about Sasuke. I want to know why you're here and why you didn't tell my mother everything you saw in the Underworld.'
'Oh, you liked that, huh?' Suigetsu smirked. 'I always like to keep my cards close, and I never deal all my cards on the table at once. Never mind my reasons; you owe me big time. If your mother knew you'd been making out with the King of the Dead while she was worrying her ass off on the surface, she would've blown her shit a lot worse than what she has. She'd have grounded you for life…' He seemed to consider this, before adding thoughtfully, 'Well, however long your life-span is. I'm confused as fuck about what exactly you are, and this whole freaky reincarnation thing.'
Sakura felt her blood freeze knew?
'Don't look so surprised,' Suigetsu raised his eyebrows at her. 'Anywhere there's water, I can look in and listen, remember? You know how awesome that is? I mean, I could even talk to you when you're in the show-'
Sakura grabbed the plug and yanked it angrily. The water quickly drained away, and she exhaled in relief when silence met her ears. Returning to her room, she slipped back into bed – only to freeze again when Suigetsu's voice admonished, 'Well, that was rude.'
She looked around and saw he had reappeared in the glass of water she kept by her bedside table. Releasing a suppressed growl of frustration, Sakura telepathically snarled at him, 'What do you want?'
'Hey, easy!' He held up his hands. 'I was just saying hi… and making sure you knew that yeah, I did you a favour. But I expect something back in return, unless you want me spilling the beans to mama about your little love affair down under.'
'It was not a love affair,' Sakura blushed indignantly in the darkness. 'You told me to act a part and I did it.'
'All I want to know,' Suigetsu dismissed her words as if she had not even spoken them, 'is the truth about you. Are you really the reincarnated goddess of spring? Cuz that would be a really, REALLY big deal to a lot of people you kno-'
Sakura didn't trust him. She didn't dare to answer, either. In response, she grabbed the water glass and tipped it onto the ground.
Suigetsu didn't bother her again, but she spent the rest of the night in restless agitation before finally drifting off into fitful sleep shortly before her alarm clock went off in the morning.
Picking up the clipboard containing the morning's schedule on her way to the locker room, Sakura rubbed at her forehead, willing the remnants of the headache that had surfaced from lack of sleep the prior night to subside. Coffee had taken the edge off it, but with a morning at the hospital and a packed afternoon of university classes ahead of her, Sakura knew it was going to be a long, tiring day.
Assemble with trainees K. Saito and Y. Tanaka at Cardiology reception, 9AM, she read, as she stashed her bag and cardigan into her allocated locker.
So she'd be working with two other, older trainee doctors in the Cardiology department. She supposed that might be useful as a first year medical student, to compare experiences and gain more insight into what the following years of study held in store.
Placing the clipboard down on the bench in the neutral-toned locker room, she hastily tied back her hair and changed into her hospital garb, before exiting the room, reading over the remaining programme for the morning, greeting familiar staff members along her way.
Her mother and Shizune were completing surgeries all morning, she knew, as she took the elevator up to the Cardiology wing. Approaching reception, she recognised a familiar senior consultant named Dr. Suzuki, who was already briefing two people dressed in blue junior doctor overalls, who had their backs to Sakura. She bit her lower lip, glancing at the clock on the wall as she joined them. She was only four minutes late but they'd started already.
"Ah, good morning, Sakura!" Dr. Suzuki greeted. He had a kind, thin face that showed the wisdom of his many years of expertise in his field, and smiling brown eyes that peered at her over slightly lowered spectacles. "It's not like you to be late, I assumed perhaps you were not joining us today."
"I'm sorry," Sakura apologised, smiling sheepishly as she came to a stop just behind the two individuals he'd been briefing. "I stopped to get a coffee on the way."
"It's quite alright. I've only started going over the patient details for this morning with these junior doctors. You will be shadowing them today," he said, passing over another sheet of paper to Sakura, which she slipped onto the top of her clipboard. Then he introduced, as the two junior doctors turned to look at her, "This is Sakura, Dr. Haruno's daughter, a first year medical student who has been volunteering with us already for over a year. Sakura meet Yuki and Kenji who will be working with you this morning."
Sakura smiled at the girl, Yuki, who was petite in build, had light brown hair and matching light brown eyes, and then turned her gaze to the taller young man.
Only for his eyes to widen in recognition as they settled onto her face.
"Hey," he said, in happy surprise. "You're- I've seen you before!"
Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded. He looked vaguely familiar – and then it hit her, at the exact same time he added, "You're that girl… from the Festival? Right?"
He was one hundred per cent sure, because in his mind, there was no mistaking such a beautiful girl, with such pretty-hued hair and apple-green eyes.
Sakura blinked at him in surprise. She remembered him too; the sandy-blond haired, cute guy who had given her the dove in a cage, on the very same day she had first met The Carousel Guy. Sasuke.
"I – yes," she beamed back, thinking how wonderful it was that they'd meet again. "Hi!"
"You know her?" Yuki asked, smiling at Sakura. They were clearly classmates, and Sakura figured out that if they were on placement at the hospital, it meant that they had to attend the same university she did.
"I met her at the Spring Festival," Kenji grinned.
"Wonderful, you are all well-acquainted I see," Dr. Suzuki sounded amused, subtly drawing their attention back to him. "You'll have plenty of opportunity to catch up later, I am sure, but for now, let's run through this morning's patients!"
"Right!" All three students agreed, and Dr. Suzuki proceeded to detail them on the cases they'd be dealing with.
And Sakura, who listened intently, couldn't help but notice how often Kenji's eyes slipped onto her during the explanations.
Three hours later, Sakura had completed her shift and exited the locker room after changing out of her uniform. The morning had gone well. She'd enjoyed getting to know Yuki and Kenji - or Ken as he insisted she call him – in between comparing patient notes and dealing with cases. She discovered that they were on placement twice a week and looked forward to working with them again. Even happier of a coincidence was the fact they both did indeed both attend the same university as she was, being in their second year of medical school.
Yuki had assured her they'd meet up on campus sometime, before making her way to the ENT department. Kenji had disappeared just before Sakura had finished her shift. She smiled slightly, remembering his cheerful demeanour. In some ways he reminded her of Naruto – albeit a less goofy version of her dear friend. Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she clocked out, while texting a message to her mother that she was heading off to afternoon classes. She was just reaching the rotating doors of the main entrance, when a voice called after her.
"Sakura! Wait up!"
She turned, to find Kenji jogging to catch up to her.
"Hey," he greeted. "In a hurry to leave?"
"I've got afternoon classes that start in an hour," Sakura explained, as they left the hospital together and stepped out into the sunny, cold afternoon outside. She checked the time on her cell phone. "Just enough time to grab lunch."
"I gotta head there too," Kenji pulled a face. "Not classes, but I need to head to the library, we have a paper due next week and I've found anything to do but read up for it."
Sakura laughed.
"I bet you don't have that problem," Kenji looked at her. "You were really into the patient notes. You strike me as someone who really enjoys studying."
"I guess I do," Sakura agreed. "This is something I always wanted to do, so I've got to work hard." Then she shook her head and laughed again. "I can't believe we ended up going to the same university. It's a small world."
"Or fate?" Kenji threw her an easy, charming grin, his hazel eyes flecked green in the sunlight. "You know, I looked for you after the lantern ceremony, but you'd vanished."
Sakura opened her mouth to explain that she'd been the last to leave and had remained in place long after the ceremony had been over – but then decided against it. It conjured up all sorts of memories in her mind of everything that had followed their meeting – specifically, the carousel ride… which in turn made her remember Sasuke, and she really didn't want to think about him again.
"Yeah, it's always busy afterwards when everyone leaves," Sakura replied vaguely.
To her relief, Kenji changed the subject. "So how are you liking medical school so far?"
"Oh, it's wonderful," said Sakura. "It's always been my dream to study medicine."
"I'm sure you'll make an awesome doctor," Kenji complimented.
"Thanks. I hope so." Sakura felt her cheeks warm despite herself. She still wasn't used to cute guys paying her compliments. And Kenji was good-looking. Not as smoulderingly seductive and dangerously handsome as a certain other person she'd come to know, but he had a kind, cute face, and a cheerful, upbeat personality.
"So uh, how about lunch on me? We've got some time, and we're heading to the same place. What do you say?"
Sakura looked at him, surprised. He was offering to buy her lunch? A part of her hesitated. For some odd reason, she felt reluctant to accept, even if he was just being friendly.
Dark eyes flashed briefly across her mind's eye.
No, she thought angrily to herself, pushing the thought of him out her mind once more. Instead she thought about the promise she had made to herself; that she'd live her life to the fullest for all the time she had been granted on the surface. And Kenji seemed like a relatively ordinary guy. More than anything, Sakura craved the restoration of ordinary in her life, even though things had changed beyond recognition in her world.
Meeting his gaze, she smiled and nodded, "Sure."
Sasuke twirled the phial between his index finger and thumb as he sat pensively upon his throne, lost deeply in thought.
Orochimaru and Kabuto were desperate to retrieve the contents of the bottle he held. Sasuke wondered just how desperate, how far they were prepared to go and to what extremes to get it back.
'Find what was taken from my subjects, and we can begin.'
Cronus's words drifted back to him, causing Sasuke's dark eyes to narrow. What had the Elder Uchiha meant? Begin what?
Sasuke knew he had something that was clearly of great importance to the surface gods' enemies. And now that Sakura was no longer in the Underworld, Sasuke knew it was time for him to address the matter of the phial. To make his move on the chess-board Cronus had already set into motion.
His subjects were plotting something, of that there was no doubt.
Sasuke had to find out what it was. Not just snippets of what he was planning, but the whole picture. He needed to know what the disturbing eyeballs in Orochimaru's lab were, what the creatures Kabuto had unleashed on Tsunade and Shizune had been exactly, how this all tied in to the forbidden Edo Tensei technique Sasuke'd had the displeasure of watching at the entrance to his very Kingdom.
His sharp, analytical mind raced. He thought about Naruto's words, what he had told him about Cronus's intentions back during the war; his desire to control both life and death by kidnapping and poisoning Kore.
Was Cronus after Sakura again? Was he actively seeking her out? Sasuke's fingers tightened around the phial in response to the very thought of Cronus involving Sakura in his twisted plans. Was that what he was trying to do? Or, believing her to be just an inconsequential human girl who would never live beyond her teenage years at each reincarnation, was Cronus in fact trying to find a way to replicate her powers of granting life to living organisms – specifically, plant-based forms?
If he was intending that, then what did that mean on a wider scale? Cronus was already trapped in Olympus. He already had the throne of the Gods, even if he was a King uncrowned.
Was he planning his revenge at last on the surface gods? Did he seek to escape from his enforced confinement? Was he planning to bend all to his will, including humanity, to force all to worship him and renounce any other deity?
Sasuke's eyebrows drew together in a light scowl. Naturally as the leader of the Uchiha, Cronus had always been highly intelligent, a mastermind of battle strategy, manipulation and deceit. Beneath a misleadingly calm and charming exterior, he was as much exceptionally brilliant as he was thoroughly insane. And he hadn't acted alone back then. Even with his direct clan members, whom he'd tricked into fighting for his cause, he'd had assistance from other deities, too.
Ares had been one such god. A player of tricks, and a deity who'd visited the Underworld so often, that many had speculated of the precise nature of his relationship with the Uchiha, he'd often enjoyed switching physical forms, leaving mortals and deities alike uncertain of which Ares was the real deal. War-mongering and violent in nature, he'd turned his back on his seat on the Olympian council and taken up arms against Zeus, outraged that Zeus's solutions to injustice had always been to prioritise peaceful solutions over war, thus devaluing Ares's very essence. The God of War had been a deadly force, both in terms of fighting prowess and calculating war strategy, as well as the disturbing ability to remotely possess people's minds, turning them to madness and blood lust.
The winged goddess Eris had been another who had supported him. Then there had been the Titans, who'd sided with Cronus, wishing to steal power and authority back from the Olympians. Before passing, it was written in literature that the Titans had been sealed in eternal punishment within the deepest depths of Tartarus by Zeus and his Queen, Hera.
Sasuke had never traversed to the depths of the infernal pits to check the validity of these claims. If the Titans were trapped there, he certainly didn't want an audience with them. In either case, an extremely powerful, ancient seal wrought from the days of Cronus's dominion over the Underworld, prevented anyone from escaping Hell.
The King of the Dead's mind turned to Ares. He didn't know what had come to pass of him or Eris. Nowhere was it written on record – and it had never been Sasuke's business to wonder before.
But now he did, and he knew one person who would likely know – one person who always knew more than she let on.
Rising fluidly from his throne, he effortlessly flickered out of sight and alighted by his desired location. Pushing aside the heavy curtain of vines that concealed the entrance to Chiyo's ancient hut, he sniffed in displeasure at the strange smell of bubbling potions, and found the old hag bent over a cauldron, stirring some kind of fresh concoction together. Some clay pots hanging from the roof of the hut clattered together as Sasuke entered, announcing his arrival.
Not that Chiyo required any prior notice. She had sensed him long before he'd set foot into her shelter. Her powers worked in ways that Sasuke, despite all his wisdom, had never managed to fully comprehend.
"Well, well," she rasped, without turning around to greet her visitor. "Your visits are fast becoming more frequent, little king." Lifting a wooden spoon to her lips, she took an unhurried sip before muttering disapprovingly under her breath, stirring the bright purple mixture once more. "I have seen you more in these last few months than in centuries before! Eheh heh heh heh!"
One corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched, in not quite a sneer. Would that he'd never have to interact with the peculiar hag at all. But she was powerful and she possessed great knowledge. Reminding himself that he was here for a purpose, he summoned what patience he possessed, and cut straight to the chase.
"Orochimaru is conducting experiments on the surface, with assistance from his human puppet, a man named Kabuto."
Chiyo paused, then slowly set the giant mixing spoon on the pot's edge, before turning to face Sasuke.
"I might have guessed this wasn't a pleasant social call," she remarked. Wiping her hands on the apron she'd fasted over her dull grey cloak, she hobbled over to a wood-woven seat by the fireplace, and perched on it, gripping onto the handle of her twisted oak walking cane with hands wrinkled by the flow of countless ages. Sasuke wondered why she insisted on keeping such a form, but supposed it matched her wealth of wisdom.
Taking her resigned tones as encouragement to continue, Sasuke went on, "Kabuto was confronted by Tsunade and Shizune, who found this phial within his possession. The liquid inside – it promotes growth."
"Does it, indeed," Chiyo held out a hand. "Let me see."
Sasuke stepped fluidly forward and deposited the phial into her outstretched palm. The old goddess pulled the stopper from it and held the small bottle up to her nose. She inhaled deeply – then scowled.
"So it has come to this," she mumbled.
"To what?" Sasuke pounced. "Tell me."
Chiyo replaced the cap of the phial and handed it back to Sasuke. At her silence, Sasuke frowned in frustration.
"Enough of your cryptic games, old hag. I know what Sakura really is. I know Cronus sought to control life and death back during the war and poisoned her original form. I know you were there when she was first reborn. I want to know, is he planning to do it again?"
"It is not my place to interfere with the unfolding of events," Chiyo replied stiffly.
"You seem to interfere when it suits you," Sasuke jibed back. "You interfered back on the surface when Suigetsu was about to take the girl to his-"
In an instant, Chiyo had leapt to her feet, with remarkable flexibility and speed for one who appeared so ravaged and compromised by old-age. Pointing the end of her cane straight toward Sasuke's throat, she narrowed her eyes at him, and snapped in a stronger, more authoritative tone to that she usually adopted, "I will not be spoken to so insolently by a mere child." Sasuke tensed, affronted by the patronising edge to her voice, but before he could answer, she was going on, "I know what your questions are, Little King. Cronus is a shadow that falls over all surface folk, but he is not only a danger to the land of the living. His dark intentions would wreak havoc upon your realm also."
Sasuke swallowed, forcing his arms to remain by his sides. He could bat aside the old crone's staff in the blink of an eye, but so long as she had it pointed at him, then it meant she was talking. And he wasn't so impulsive or foolish to start a scuffle with a goddess as old as Chiyo. He needed to find out any scrap of information he could from her – especially given that he knew from experience that she never disclosed anything lightly – or freely.
The Goddess pursed her wrinkled lips. "As to what they are, well, it would seem from the little visit he had his puppets pay you that he intends to meddle with the powers of both life and death. He has already dabbled in the forbidden arts. And his subjects are indeed moving. This much, you have come to understand already alone."
"Tell me," Sasuke demanded, "what he's planning -"
Chiyo applied more pressure to the end of her stick, silencing the King of the Dead. "Silence!" she chided. "I will not lift a finger to change the course of what is to come – and the only reason I assist you in knowing Cronus's intentions, is because they affect us all. This phial you hold contains cloned cells from the Goddess's blood."
"How was Kabuto able to obtain them?"
"He is uncommonly clever, and as careful as Tsunade and Shizune have been for many ages gone past, they did not bargain on a mortal causing them such issues. And no ordinary mortal would have had the means – unless he had the backing of the likes of the Serpent. He has been watching Tsunade for a long time. And her daughter, too."
Sasuke's hands balled into tight fists. So it was true. Orochimaru had noticed Sakura. But just how much did he know about her?
Chiyo seemed to read his thoughts. Lowering her staff, she shook her head in disapproval.
"Yes, he knows Tsunade has a daughter. Cronus knows it, too. But they see the child as nothing more than a sentimental reincarnation of the original that perished, that Tsunade allows to be reborn because she cannot release her grief."
Sasuke was silent for a minute, before daring to venture, "The seal on her – on her Essence… why can't my eyes perceive it?"
Chiyo smiled a mysterious smile. "There are none among you that can. It was designed for precisely that purpose – to conceal her true identity from Cronus and his allies, who would seek to use her gifts again. And in the wrong hands, it would bring death and destruction beyond anything humanity has witnessed."
Sasuke had guessed as much. "Naruto said Zeus wove the seal. That none of them learned how to undo it, and so the cycle of her rebirth cannot be broken."
Firelight glinted off Chiyo's eyes as she stared solemnly at him. "That is correct. They do not know how to reverse the seal."
"Do you?" Sasuke asked.
"I do not. There are none among us now that can."
So that was it? Sakura would just keep dying, and being reborn, until time's end? Frustration gnawed away at Sasuke's chest. He glared at the old crone, as if she were somehow responsible. He knew she wasn't telling him everything – only what she found it convenient, in whatever her untold grand designs were – to divulge. He turned away from Chiyo, pacing back and forth, not caring that his actions betrayed his restlessness over the matter.
"There must be a way," he muttered frustratedly under his breath.
As he anticipated, Chiyo remained silent at that.
His mind raced. There had to be a way to undo the seal. There was no such thing as a seal that could not be unwoven once made – not unless it were a seal that related to death.
He stopped abruptly. A death seal. Was that also part of it? Was an inbuilt "timer" set into the Essence, which dictated when each reincarnation was programmed to pass?
Did the complex seal involve some altered version of a death seal? That would account for how each body was "poisoned" before she began remembering everything about her original life.
Death seals… he knew about those. But trying them out on Sakura was a risky venture, and there was no way of predicting how her body would respond. He didn't want to inadvertently trigger or hasten her sudden death by his own hands, meddling with a seal he couldn't even see. Sasuke stopped his pacing, discouraged. Any time he thought he was getting a lead on something, he hit a dead-end wall again.
"So long as Sakura is mortal, she is no threat to Cronus." Chiyo watched him. "He will not trouble her. Unless."
Slowly, Sasuke turned back to face Chiyo. "Well?" he pressed, irritated and just about out of patience.
"Unless he realises there is a seal upon her, discovers her true nature and seeks to use her as a vessel, for the forbidden arts. What you hold in your hand, can also be cloned."
Sasuke blinked. He looked from Chiyo – to the phial in his hand. What was she suggesting? That Orochimaru sought to create more of this liquid, and that ultimately it could be injected into a compatible host?
And if he were to somehow catch wind of the fact that Sakura was, in fact, the very same goddess that Cronus had kidnapped before, that the only thing that prevented her from fully awakening was an unknown seal…
He swallowed thickly, a bitter taste in his mouth. He realised it was from how hard he was biting the tip of his tongue, enough to draw the copper tang of blood.
Orochimaru and Cronus wouldn't stop experimenting on Sakura if they did get their hands on her. They wouldn't care for her well-being. She'd be merely an instrument in their plans. And if they used Edo-Tensei to somehow revive her if she passed, preventing her soul from returning to the fountain to continue the cycle of rebirth…
Understanding roared into life in his mind. It was all making sense… the forbidden Edo-Tensei… the phial of modified, cloned liquid in his hands… Orochimaru's twisted experiments. How Sakura could fit into those gruesome designs.
They were looking for a perfect match to act as a host to whatever terrible powers Cronus was seeking to unleash upon the surface gods and the world.
And now that Sakura had returned from his world… they would likely be watching her with even more interest, seeking to know what had sought him to take her, and bind her to the Underworld. They had no way of knowing about her seal, not unless they somehow overheard anyone talking about it, but it certainly didn't help matters that her sudden reappearance after months of absence on the surface, would likely grab the enemy's attention.
And Orochimaru had a habit of digging in every unholy place imaginable until he picked up a scent of truth.
Damn it, Sasuke raked a hand through his dark hair. It was even more confirmation he didn't need that he'd done Sakura a whole lot more hurt than he could have ever foreseen when he'd taken her.
He hadn't known, damn it.
"Sasuke."
Stirred out of the chaos of his thoughts, Sasuke blinked, and looked back at the hag. To his surprise, she was looking at him earnestly, truly looking at him, with no hint of jest or mockery on her face. And then she said something that caught him off-guard. She gave him a warning – so unlike her in character and temperament, that he was left quite disturbed by it.
"You must proceed with caution," she advised. "Cronus sees all. If you seek to help the girl, you must put aside your differences with them. He is your common enemy. Do not act in anger, or in haste. You will regret it. Take heed. In time you will see what you must do."
Them? She meant Naruto and the surface deities. Sasuke's lips curled into a disdainful sneer. If she thought that he had any intention of assisting them beyond ensuring Sakura's welfare, she was sorely mistaken.
"Ares," he brushed aside her words, recalling the question he'd intended to ask her. "There are no records on him. Was he sealed in Tartarus with the Titans?"
"Ares is still among us, but not in his true form." Chiyo replied.
Sasuke had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at her riddles. "Explain," he demanded.
"You will find him, when you know where to look," said the old goddess, and chuckled as the King of the Dead glared daggers at her.
"How helpful," Sasuke quipped sarcastically, knowing her well enough to realise that she wasn't about to answer that particular question. It elicited another merry laugh from the crone.
Then another thought occurred to him. Something he'd wanted answered for a very long time – and something he'd not yet had the chance to ask Chiyo.
"Sakura has had dreams, which include her old memories as the Goddess," he began curtly. "She mentioned that the Goddess knew me. Naruto also said I'd met her in the past." Narrowing his eyes slightly, he finished, "Yet I have no recollection of ever meeting her."
Chiyo was silent for a very long moment. Then she said quietly, "Is that so."
The words were phrased as a question, but the intonation behind them was anything but questioning in nature.
His sense of suspicion and uncertainty increased considerably, although Chiyo was looking steadily at him, her expression revealing nothing of her inner thoughts.
"I drank from Mnemosyne," Sasuke went on. "Had I forgotten for whatever reason, that would have restored my memory. But nothing happened. So tell me, how is it I can't remember ever meeting her?"
"Are you so certain about her claims?" Chiyo's eyebrows rose. "Perhaps the little flower is mistaken."
Sasuke opened his mouth to remind her that Naruto had told him the same thing, but the elder goddess was already waving her hands at him.
"In any case, this conversation is rather irrelevant. It is not of my concern to discuss sentimental things such as your memories, or lack thereof."
Sasuke glowered at her. He was about to tell her exactly what he thought about that, and her general irritating tendency to not answer his questions, when she finished with a snap of her fingers, "Enough!"
A blink of an eye later, and he was standing back in the throne room of his palace, clutching the phial tightly in his hand.
He gazed up at the body floating within the large cylinder of water. At last, it was almost ready. He'd used just enough sample from the phial, prior to it being stolen, to complete the fusion of the being he would name Zetsu. An androgynous entity with a body painted half in black and half in white, Zetsu was the result of years' worth of scientific research, dark arts and experimentation, forged of biological matter, and had the ability to grow spores which could grow as white offshoots and contaminate hosts, feeding back to its original form.
The pieces of his plan were finally falling into place. But he still required the phial's contents, to solidify the spores, to make them resilient and more easily cloned so that Zetsu could reproduce them at a faster rate. He still required the contents, to perfect the serum that could turn mortals into biological warfare in a war they didn't even realise was creeping upon them.
Zetsu's eyes had yet to open, but he knew it was only a matter of time until it awoke from its state of hibernation.
Cronus would be pleased.
He turned away from the cylinder, to circle around his second slumbering creation. Restrained to a heavy steel chair to prevent him from lashing out while his body underwent the final stage of metamorphosis, Kabuto appeared pale and sickly in appearance, and yet within his veins, flowed an extraordinary, inhuman power.
Yessss, thought Orochimaru approvingly, smirking with glee. Kabuto had been so easy to manipulate, the perfect choice to advance his plans. His puppet was almost ready. The transformation was all but complete.
It required only one further modification. He turned to the individual to whom he'd extended a personal invitation. As planned, they'd turned up; the lure of what had been promised to them, too great to refuse.
"I don't mean to be rude," the visitor said garishly, "but this is a freaky way to welcome people over. What is this place? It's a dump!"
"You are still as insufferable asss ever," Orochimaru reproached.
"And you're still as creepy as ever. What's wrong with him?" He gestured at Kabuto. "Still running your crazy experiments on unsuspecting humans, huh?"
"You needn't concern yourssself with him," Orochimaru rasped. "We are here to trade, as agreed."
"Uh huh. And what are you trading? Better be worth my while, or deal's off."
Orochimaru smiled a sickly smile. "You collect swordsss, do you not?"
"Too late. I already got the one I was after."
"Ah, but what of the othersss?"
His visitor looked dubiously at him. "Only two of the seven mist swords remain and I have them both. I've looked everywhere for the others already. Is this a joke?"
Orochimaru's smile deepened. Then he gestured with his arm, and out of the cloak of darkness, three impressive blades hovered in the air beside him.
"No way!" His visitor's eyes widened in shock. "Those are-"
"Kiba." He nodded at the blade with fang-like protrusions. "Shibuki." A larger, broader sword hovered before him. "And Nuibari." He gestured at the final, long, needle-thin blade.
"How did you get those? That's impossible!"
"Kukukuku." Orochimaru cackled. "Nothing is impossible, if you have the means of making it possible…"
As his guest stepped forward to inspect them, he drew the swords back, as if commanding an invisible magnetic field, signalling that there would be no touching unless he gave his agreement. "Do we have a deal?"
His visitor shrugged. "What do you want?"
"Merely a few dropsss of your blood."
"Eh?" His guest tilted his head, perplexed and caught once again by surprise. "Why? That's just weird."
Orochimaru collected a sterile needle from the work-station in the dimly-lit laboratory beside them. Licking his lips, he hissed, "Let usss say, I wish to experiment…"
"What a freak," his visitor muttered under his breath. He looked at the swords. Mythical items he'd desired to possess for longer than he cared to remember. Weapons he'd been thoroughly convinced had been lost in time. And yet there they were, right before his very eyes, ready for the taking.
All he needed to do was provide a few drops of his deity blood. Nothing that he would miss. And yet, he didn't know what Orochimaru was planning to do with them. Knowing what the daemon was like, he suspected whatever was intended was absolutely no good and likely to be sinister.
But did he care? Did it affect him directly at all? He didn't see how it could be a big deal, and he'd always minded his own business when it came to dealings with the other surface deities, ever since they'd made the mistake of removing him from his seat of power over what he'd insisted was a complete misunderstanding. He didn't think the consequences would be too great if he provided a sample. It wasn't like the world would flood over. And even if it did, as master of the blood, he could surely deal with cleaning up the mess if unforeseen outcomes arose from his trade.
Meeting Orochimaru's golden, snake-slit gaze, Suigetsu sighed, and held out his arm. "Fine. But three drops is all you get, creep. And if it causes me any trouble, I'll flood this place with you and your freakish experiments with it. Got it?!"
Orochimaru met his gaze, and smiled darkly.
[One surface month later]
"Sooo, tell us!" Ino hunched over on Sakura's bedroom floor, painting her toe-nails bright pink. "I want to know about the cute junior doctor working with you in the hospital! What was it? Ben?"
"Ken," Sakura corrected automatically.
It was the end of the week, and Ino had arranged an impromptu sleep-over at Sakura's house. Sakura hadn't known anything about it – until her friends turned up right at her door-step, clutching their sleep-over bags, looking excited and happy to see her.
Exhausted from a week of juggling her studies and working at the hospital, Sakura hadn't had it in her heart to protest. Besides, it had been too long since she'd had a girls' night in like this.
Tenten was browsing through the chick flick DVD movies with Hinata, trying to decide on one for them to watch. Scattered over the floor were a variety of different foods in bowls and cardboard boxes. Mostly junk food with little nutritional value, but Sakura was glad for it, as she reached shamelessly for another slice of comforting pizza.
"I told you, we met at the Spring Festival. He's the same guy who gave me that dove."
"That's just crazy," Tenten said, holding up a DVD to Hinata, who looked doubtful. Sighing, she exclaimed, "You pick one!"
"O-okay," Hinata scrambled through the rest of the collection.
"It's FATE!" Ino declared sensationally. "Do you have a photo of him?"
Sakura scowled. "Of course not!"
"Why not? Isn't he cute?"
"No, just, why would I keep a photo of him?" Sakura spoke with her mouth full – a bad habit she'd never been able to curb in the presence of her friends.
"Why not?" Ino waggled her eyebrows. "And are you admitting he is cute?"
"I already told you he's cute," Sakura finished off her slice.
"Well, is he into you?" Tenten nodded as Hinata held up a DVD.
"I'm not sure. I mean, he's friendly."
"Sakuraaa!" Ino sang. "He's invited you to eat a few times just this week alone! On top of all the other shared 'study' sessions you guys have been scheduling in. You can't be that dense, Forehead."
Sakura sighed heavily, as she threw herself back on her bed. It was true. Kenji was interested in her, and she knew it. They'd spent the last month getting to know each other a lot better, even if it was within the context of university and studies. Maybe she was denying it, because a part of her didn't want it to be true, so she didn't have to deal with it and what it might mean.
"We're just friends," she stated helplessly.
"For now," Ino quipped, and she and Tenten shared a knowing giggle.
Hinata looked apologetically at Sakura, as if to say, I don't know why we put up with them, really. Except Hinata was far too polite to even think such a thing, much less say it.
"Oh shut up," Sakura rolled her eyes, but felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips at their annoying antics. For as much as Ino irritated her, it felt good to be a regular teenage girl, whose biggest problem at that moment was whether or not a guy her age was interested in her.
At least Sakura could pretend to be normal for a few seconds – even when she was anything but.
"If he asked you to the Winter ball in a couple of weeks, would you say yes?" Tenten asked the question that was no doubt on all the girls' minds.
Sakura felt a blush creep into her cheeks. She hated being put on the spot! She'd only just met Kenji again. And already her friends were asking her if she would date him? She wasn't ready for all that! She didn't want to think of romance. She didn't want-
Dark eyes drifted through her mind. It took every fibre of her being not to groan out loud in frustration. Whatever it had been she and Sasuke had shared in the Underworld… the smothering chemistry and sparks, or whatever insanity it had been - it hadn't been natural. The circumstances had been all wrong. She'd only let him kiss her to fulfill her escape plan. She had to stop thinking about it. About him. Just because she was tied to his realm, it didn't mean they had to be involved in any way. In fact, from the way he'd just sent her home without so much as a goodbye, or an explanation, or any kind of instruction on how the year would go, the horrible sending off he'd given her at the edge of Tartarus, strongly suggested to her that he likely wanted nothing more to do with her until he absolutely had to see her – just as Suigetsu had implied.
He was probably just as angry at himself now for binding her to the Underworld, probably regretted ever letting her touch the Forbidden Fruit and having to deal with her at all.
She hated the way merely thinking about him made her heart flutter in her chest, made her feel on edge. She knew it was because she'd lacked any form of closure. They'd both been so angry and upset. Everything at the end had happened so fast, and with such raw emotion. She'd not had the chance to process it all, before she'd suddenly been back on the surface, and Sasuke and his realm seemed like a far-off dream-world she'd imagined in her mind.
If you really want to forget about him, her inner voice said, stop running away from nice, normal guys who actually have manners, and give them a chance. You said you were going to live your life to the fullest on the surface. You won't even be seeing Sasuke until next autumn. You can worry about the specifics then. Maybe giving Ken a chance will do you some good. You can see what a normal relationship might be like.
"Yes," she blurted out, answering the question without another thought.
Her girlfriends gasped, and then squealed delightedly in response.
Loud music blared out the window. The cloaked figure could see the silhouettes inside, of humans dancing within. Outside the house, stood three men and a woman. One was smoking a cigarette, while the others conversed together.
The figure tilted its head, its ghostly eyes curious as it scanned the scene, filing its report mentally as it fed off its host. A clear, crisp evening. Deities on patrol outside the house. And up in the room where the music was coming from, were the girl who had returned from the Underworld and her friends.
It had been watching for a few weeks now from the same spot, concealed in the shadows of the street at night. Acting upon its Master's instruction, linked to its original form – a creature fused of darkness and light, back at its Master's base - where it channelled the chakra and thoughts of its hosts, which were fed back to its original form and in turn delivered to the Master.
It turned away, finding nothing unusual or new to note – only to abruptly stiffen and choke noiselessly as it was skewered mercilessly straight through the throat.
Obsidian eyes narrowed, before a trained hand ruthlessly wrenched the blade back, causing the impaled body to convulse violently.
"You grow complacent, Serpent," a voice hissed coldly in its ear, knowing that his words would be relayed back to the spore's base, where its Master was listening. "There is nothing that hides in the shadows,which my eyes do not see. Any unnatural creation that defies the balance of life and death, I will strike down."
The body slumped forward, hit the pavement, and melted into a sickly puddle of white.
Author's Note
What is that thing at the end, watching Sakura's house? Let me know your thoughts on this and I'll begin work on the next chapter as soon as possible. A head's up that it will include a talk between Sakura and Naruto, about what happened between Sasuke and Naruto during the war.
Thanks for reading and for everyone who takes the time to kindly leave feedback here and on Tumblr. You guys are the best and motivate me to continue this story to completion. Thanks again for being so patient with me.