This is a direct continuation of the last chapter, so the poem from the previous one applies also. Tracks I listened to while typing out the final two scenes are linked on my profile page, please listen to help catch the mood when the scenes were written. Strap yourselves in because this one has one hell of a cliffhanger!
Chapter LV
[The following day]
Sakura had attended an afternoon shift at the hospital following a Monday morning of lectures at the university. She was leafing intently through some patient notes, when the alarmed calls of medical staff and running footsteps drew her sudden attention.
Blinking, she looked up, to see a team of doctors and nurses rushing in the direction of one of the critical care units. Three of the nurses were wheeling along stands that contained a defibrillator machine as well as other equipment, while two doctors shouted urgent instructions.
Sakura tagged along the end of the line, hurrying to keep up. What was happening? She'd just checked all the units not half an hour earlier, and nothing had been amiss. Her heart then sank as she registered where the medical team were headed.
It was a room containing a six year old little girl named Ruka, who had been admitted to hospital after hitting her head following a car accident, in which she had fallen unconscious. Doctors had managed to stabilise her vitals, but she'd required assistance in breathing and had yet to wake up from the accident, three days prior.
Entering the room, she found the girl's mother in hysterics and her father looking ashen, trying to calm his distraught wife down. Nurses were trying to reassure the pair, asking them gently to wait outside. But the girl's mother was screaming, a sound of such pained anguish that it shook Sakura to her very core.
"My baby! My baby! Please! Save my baby!"
Her cries overran the flat-line sound of the girl's pulse monitoring machine. Her heart had stopped.
On the bed, medical personnel crowded around the child. Sakura watched in a muted daze as a doctor grabbed the defibrillator paddles and positioned them at carefully measured distances upon the girl's tiny torso.
"Clear!" The doctor yelled and after a second, administered an electrical impulse into the child's chest.
Sakura held her breath, watching the heart monitor screen. The child's pulse spiked back up, faint and weak, growing temporarily in strength, before slowing once more.
Then it flat-lined.
Sakura felt a cold sweat sweep over her. All she could think about were the ghostly souls lingering on the bank of the Underworld. She imagined Ruka amongst them, looking lost, confused, frightened.
She was too young to die.
Sasuke had told her death did not discriminate. Sakura knew this. And yet watching the scene made it no easier to accept.
"Clear!" the most senior doctor shouted, and again delivered another shock of electricity to stop and reset Ruka's heart rhythm.
The pulse monitor beeped slowly as the girl was once more revived. Sakura blinked, her eyes blurring with tears as she watched helplessly. Her mother hadn't taught her any revival technique strong enough to reverse this kind of damage, not with her restricted chakra levels, and the doctors would never let her close enough to try and pump healing chakra into the child – not without everyone asking what she was doing.
The steady beep of a restored heart-beat had the medics fussing with the child's oxygen equipment. Ruka's mother sobbed in relief; she looked on the verge of collapsing, and so did her shaken husband.
"Keep an eye on her pulse!" the second doctor barked. "You, get a fresh IV drip into her!"
A nurse scrambled to do as she was commanded, and for about three minutes, the girl's rhythm was steady.
Then, suddenly, it grew erratic and flat-lined again.
"NO!" her mother screamed, turning wild, unseeing eyes to Sakura. "NO, MY BABY! PLEASE!"
Sakura felt oddly breathless. Senselessly, she thought, 'Please, let her live.'
She didn't quite know who she was thinking it to. Herself. Or Sasuke, as if he could somehow hear her.
As if he would somehow show mercy.
"Clear!" Once more the doctors administered an electric current into the child's heart. They tried, two, three, four, five, six, seven more times, shouting "Clear" with growing agitation as they battled to revive the little girl. Her parents were both weeping, and even the nurses were struggling to maintain a professional demeanour as Ruka's heart stopped responding altogether to the defibrillator.
Sakura then grew very still, transfixed to the spot. She could see a glowing aura appearing above the child's body. She thought it was an illusion at first, but when she blinked again repeatedly, the aura, a pale white light, shifted and glowed brighter, drawing away from the child's body. It seemed attached to it only by the thinnest of threads. Sakura stared at it, initially confused by what exactly she was seeing – then unpleasant realisation slammed into her, and she stiffened, releasing a stifled gasp.
How was it possible that she was seeing a soul about to leave the body? Her eyes darted around frantically, beyond the half shuttered windows of the room, her skin prickling in anticipation. Was he here? Had he come to personally collect?
But she saw nothing and nobody that did not belong there. Her eyes flew back to the bed, at where the orb-shaped soul was throbbing with more force.
All at once the thread attaching it to the child's body snapped, and the aura of light floated gently away, before dispersing completely into thin air.
He hadn't needed to be there. Death was absolute; his will governed the natural order. Souls automatically knew where they had to go.
Still the doctors tried to save the child, not realising that it was already too late.
Sakura's heart thundered against her rib-cage as she numbly processed what she had seen. Something no other eyes could see in the room. Something she could see only because she was bound to the Underworld itself. It had to have something to do with the pomegranate seeds she had consumed, with the time she had spent underground. She was as certain of it as night and day. She wondered whether she would be able to see it all the time from then on. Would she walk through the streets and see haunting souls, abandoning their human shells? Why hadn't she already seen any, and why had she seen this one now?
The horrifying prospect of going about her everyday life seeing spirits departing from their bodies made tears spill from her eyes. She didn't want to be able to see it. Not here.
The flat-line tone was deafening, echoing even louder than the parents' wails reverberating in Sakura's ears.
It confirmed what she had already seen. The child's soul had departed. She was gone, likely already at the gates of the Underworld at that point.
The nurses had stood back. The doctors turned to tell the parents the most dreaded news they could already witness. Sakura turned from the room, fleeing, leaving behind the grief-stricken cries of broken parents. She burst out into the corridor, tearfully – and barrelled right into a strong chest. Lean, hard arms automatically reached out to steady her.
"Hey – whoa… Sakura?" Kenji's voice spoke above her head, laced with surprise – and then immediate concern. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you ok? What happened?"
"That's poor Ruka's room," their fellow trainee, Yuki, who stood beside him, shook her head sympathetically, hearing the commotion within. "Her prognosis was never good."
Sakura shook her head and blurted nonsensically. "I saw it. She died and I could see it."
She meant that she could see the soul departing the body… but Kenji assumed she just meant that she'd seen a patient pass away.
He put an arm consolingly around her shoulder.
"It's ok. Let's get you calmed down and freshened up. Yuki," he called to his friend. "Can you let the supervisor know that Sakura's taking a break?"
"Sure," Yuki called back. "Feel better, Sakura."
Kenji turned back to the pink-haired medic and said kindly. "Let's take some time out."
Sakura let him guide her into the nearest staffroom, grateful to have someone to lean on at least. But Kenji had no idea. He thought she was just crying because a patient had died. That wasn't it at all. She'd seen countless deceased in the Underworld. Seeing a departing soul on the surface was entirely different. He didn't understand, and she couldn't tell him what she'd seen, either. She couldn't confide in anyone, because nobody was capable of understanding the tie she now had to the realm of the dead.
Nobody – except the ruler of it.
Kenji sat her down by a small round table inside the plain, neutral-toned staffroom and handed her some tissues which she gratefully accepted. He set the kettle on and made her a steaming mug of tea, accompanied by a selection of biscuits for a sugar boost. He set both before her as he took a seat opposite her.
The tears had stopped, and Sakura dully sipped on the hot drink.
Kenji looked at her sympathetically. "It's hard, I know. But it's part of our job. I was pretty shaken up when I saw my first patient die, too. It never gets easier, but you learn to accept it."
Sakura was silent. She couldn't drown out the mother's unbearable wails. They kept replaying in her head.
"The first few times are always the worst," Kenji tried again. "But think of it this way, Sakura. We're here to do everything we can to stop that from happening. Death is part of our work, and it sucks, but we need to take comfort in the fact that we do everything we can to preserve lives, and if we can't save one, then at least the patient is no longer suffering."
It was an inspired speech. Sakura blinked, and looked up at Kenji. He was a nice guy. A really nice guy. But nothing he was saying was making her feel any better. She felt sorry for him, and out of compassion alone, chose to answer.
"The doctors kept putting the defibrillator on her. She kept coming back, and fading again, until…"
"Yeah," Kenji shook strands of blond hair out his hazel eyes. "Defibrillators are a hit and miss. They stop the heart to allow it to restart its rhythm, but a heart that's failed, it does no good." He sighed heavily. "That poor kid. At least she's at peace now."
But Sakura could only think of Ruka's terror when she descended upon the Underworld, and silently begged to differ.
"Hey," Kenji read her expression and hesitated, then reached out to place a hand comfortingly over Sakura's motionless one atop the table. "It's not your fault. Ok? The trauma was too much for her body. You couldn't have done anything to prevent it."
Sakura looked at his worried, handsome face, and swallowed thickly. She suddenly didn't want to stay in the hospital – but she didn't want to be alone, either.
"Thank you, Kenji," she said sincerely. And then, "I think I'll leave early today."
"Of course," he nodded in understanding. "Let me take you home."
"No," Sakura began automatically. "It's ok, I can walk-"
"It's getting dark early, and my car's right outside," Kenji insisted. "It's no problem, Sakura, I was only volunteering for the remainder of the afternoon, too."
"Well," Sakura hesitated, looking at him, then shrugged. "Ok. Thanks."
Kenji got to his feet. "I'll meet you at the entrance in about 20 minutes? I just need to sign some paperwork and let our supervisor know."
"Sure," Sakura agreed, rising to follow him out the staffroom. "I'll go let my mother know I'm clocking out, too. She might be in her office."
Kenji nodded and they went in opposite directions down the corridor.
Sakura peeked through the window as she dropped by her mother's office. Luckily, her mother was inside, discussing a case with another senior doctor. They were looking over X-rays together.
Sakura knocked lightly on the door. Her mother looked up, signalled to her colleague that she'd only be a moment, and popped outside the room to greet her child.
Then she noticed the dried tear-stains on Sakura's face and took her hand in concern. "What's the matter, Sakura? What has happened?"
"I'm alright," Sakura reassured her. "It's just, a child passed away in one of the critical care units, and well…" she hesitated again. Telling her mother that she'd seen the child's soul depart would only cause her mother unnecessary worry, or worse, anger her as she'd lay blame on Sasuke even more for causing her daughter distress. "I think I want to go home early today."
"Alright," her mother nodded. "Be careful on your way. Why don't you call Ino to pick you up?"
Sakura wasn't sure how her mother would take the news she revealed next. "It's ok. Kenji will drop me off."
"Kenji?" Her mother blinked.
"The second year student from my university on placement with me, the one who helped me catch up on notes I missed, remember?" Sakura prompted.
"Ah. Yes. Him." Her mother raised her eyebrows. With a mother's intuition, she deadpanned, "Is he sweet on my daughter?"
Sakura felt a blush creep into her cheeks at the frankness of the question. "He's just being nice."
"Sakura," her mother gave her a knowing look.
"Well," Sakura pulled a face. "Maybe. A little?"
"Can he be trusted?" Tsunade looked reluctant. "I've not yet met this boy personally. I've seen him on rounds, though. The tall blond one?"
"Yeah. He's just a regular, nice guy," Sakura reassured her. "You can meet him later. When do you finish today?"
"Another couple of hours." Lowering her voice, her mother added quietly, "I'd rather you not be home alone. You know we're expecting something to happen at any time. It isn't that I don't have faith in you. You can protect yourself now. But it would give me peace of mind, knowing you had company."
"I'll stay with Ken," Sakura said, understanding her concerns. "We'll go out for a coffee, or to the library or something, and I'll get back home later. I need to catch up on some more notes anyway, and he's been through all the first year assignments already."
"Alright," Tsunade nodded, satisfied. "Keep me updated. I'll message you when I'm on my way home."
Sakura agreed, kissed her mother's cheek, and after picking up her belongings and changing out her hospital wear, made her way downstairs to meet Kenji.
They left the hospital together and made their way to the car park. Getting into his car, a white sports convertible model which Kenji explained was a gift from his parents for getting into medical school, Sakura settled into the passenger seat, buckling herself in.
"Could we maybe go for a coffee, or to the library first?" she asked. "I have some notes I could use some help with."
"Sure," Kenji beamed at her, pleasantly surprised by her suggestion, as he got into the driver's side and switched on the ignition. "I got a case study I could use a second opinion on, too."
They exited the car park. Sakura looked around the interior of the car. It was nice, she noted. She felt relaxed around Kenji, but it was still strange to be in a guy's car – well, a guy who wasn't in her immediate circle of friends, at least.
A normal human guy, who had no secret deity identity, who was kind, smart and passionate about saving lives. They had a lot in common. It was nice, not to be on edge around a boy who was interested in her, for a change.
They talked the whole way, getting to know each other better, oblivious to the eyes that had watched their car pull out the car park with immense interest.
"I told Sakura-chan," Naruto informed Kakashi, as the pair sat at a ramen bar. Beside them were Hinata, Neji, Sai, Shikamaru and Ino. As the others conversed amongst themselves, Naruto leant in to speak to his old teacher in confidence.
"About?" Kakashi asked dryly.
"About what happened with Sasuke in the war; she agrees. Thinks that bastard Cronus had something to do with his altered memories."
"It's very possible," Kakashi sighed. "Or, as I've said many times, Sasuke simply witnessed the destruction of his clan and decided he hated us all for taking arms against them…"
"That wouldn't explain how he just forgot about our plans," Naruto argued.
"Who says he's forgotten? Maybe he just doesn't want to address that he was working with you, out of guilt. He feels like he betrayed his family."
"We were only meant to betray that son of a bitch."
"Your mother would scold you for your language," Kakashi said in a resigned tone.
"My mother isn't here," Naruto answered glumly, his gaze shifting subconsciously to Hinata. "Thanks to Cronus."
Kakashi noticed the looks the two shared. He'd been watching it for many ages, and also watching the pair do absolutely nothing about their mutual affections for each other. He offered, "How about I take everyone else home, and you speak to Hinata-chan?"
Naruto gulped and flushed a deep red. "What? N-no, Kakashi-sensei."
"And I thought Sasuke was the one with emotional issues," the elder deity mused. "But when he had an interest in a girl, he took her. Granted, that's an extremely deviant social behaviour in itself, but he did something. Whereas the pair of you…" he sighed again.
"I'm not worthy of her, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whispered, eyes lowering sadly.
"So you've always said. But you're the son of the King of Olympus. There was nothing you could do to prevent the passing of her father and sister."
"I swore to keep them safe. I broke my oath… what kind of person does that?"
"You did your best." After a pause, Kakashi encouraged, "Talk to her, Naruto. We know the enemy is moving. Who knows when you'll get another chance?"
Hinata met Naruto's gaze briefly, before ducking her eyes shyly away. Neji turned his head to look at Naruto in barely withheld exasperation, as if to communicate, for heaven's sake, either stop staring at my charge or do something about it!
Naruto gulped. He told himself that he would talk to her. Soon.
"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Ino screeched loudly, snatching Sai's sketch book. "It looks nothing like me!"
Shikamaru snickered, as Sai supplied that Ino was beautiful, and all he was doing was capturing her beauty.
"Wait," Ino blinked, gaping at him, as if she was really seeing him properly for the first time. "Did you just call me beautiful?"
"Why, yes," Sai answered, smiling blankly.
Ino gasped. Her cheeks bloomed pink. "You never even look at girls, what the hell?"
Kakashi listened to their light-hearted banter wistfully. One could almost be forgiven for thinking everything was as normal. Except they all knew it wasn't.
It was only a matter of time, before their enemy decided to act. The elder deity thought, they ought to enjoy the calm before the storm as much as they could, before that time arrived.
It was past six o'clock when Kenji finally dropped Saukra off home. She invited him inside to join them for dinner, and he'd nervously met her mother. Sakura had almost laughed out of pity. Her mother was certainly formidable to any person she didn't know, and particularly to would-be-suitors for her daughter. But to Sakura's surprise, Tsunade was pleasant and gave Kenji a fair chance to win her favour without frightening the life out of the poor young man.
Sakura was pleased when the two got along well, discussing medical issues, his training, his family and interests. He was open and honest about everything, and when he finally forgot to be nervous, was pleasant, charming company. He even impressed Tsunade by insisting he washed the dishes as thanks for the delicious meal they'd offered him. Tsunade had told him not to lie, as she knew that Sakura's cooking skills were questionable at best, which had made everyone on the table laugh good-naturedly.
It was past nine thirty when Sakura finally walked Kenji to the door.
"Thanks so much for today," she said sincerely, watching as the trainee medic put on his grey leather jacket and wound his scarf securely around his neck.
"Anytime, Sakura. I mean it," he met her gaze. Then he hesitated, glancing back in the direction of the kitchen, where Tsunade was putting away the final leftovers of food. "I uh… so I was wondering. There's only a few weeks left and, well, I don't know if this is a good time to ask but…"
Sakura looked at him, waiting. She was really pretty, Ken thought to himself. He wondered whether she even realised just how beautiful she was, with her soft, silky pastel pink hair, and those expressively large, doe-like green eyes.
"The university's annual Winter Ball's coming up," Kenji stuck his hands in his pockets, partly for lack of knowing where else to put them, and partly out of nervous embarrassment. Then he blurted, "Do you want to go?"
Sakura blinked. In her head, she thought, Ino is going to freak out. Fighting back a smile, she tried to adopt a serious, thoughtful look, feigning obliviousness to the direction the conversation was clearly heading. "Hmm. I've not really thought about it. I mean, is it a big thing I'd have to go to?"
"It's huge!" Kenji exclaimed enthusiastically. "The decorations, the delicious food, the whole atmosphere is really cool. I think you'd really love it."
"Are you going?" she asked. She found it hard to believe a guy as cute as Ken was didn't already have a date, some pretty second year student that was crazy for him – or several to choose from, in fact. The attention he paid her was certainly flattering, if difficult for Sakura to fully accept. She wasn't really used to nice guys making a genuine effort around her, and the only other experiences of anything remotely romantic that she'd had before, were Rock Lee's cringe-worthy declarations of devotion that she could never take seriously, and on the complete other end of the spectrum, Sasuke, who she would not classify as nice. Bad boy, more like. And well… the Lord of Death wasn't exactly a candle-lit dinner kind of guy.
No, her inner voice supplied helpfully, but he was a super hot, take you to heaven literally kinda guy-
Shut up, she told herself, mortified.
"I was hoping to, with you," Kenji's voice drew her attention back to him. "I mean-" he shifted on his feet. "I'd be honoured to take you to your first Winter Ball. If that's ok with you. And your mother."
"Put him out of his misery!" Tsunade called from down the hall, stunning Sakura, who then laughed, embarrassed. Kenji released a surprised laugh in turn, seemingly delighted with her mother's approval.
"I'm sorry-" Sakura apologised for her mother. "Yes, I'd love to go. With you."
"That's awesome!" Kenji beamed from ear to ear. "It'll be great. We'll talk about it more tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Sakura smiled, wishing him a goodnight. He called goodnight to and thanked Tsunade once more, and then left.
Closing and locking the front door behind her, Sakura turned back toward the kitchen. "Mother!" she cried. "That was so embarrassing!"
"What was embarrassing was how long it was taking him to spit it out," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "That's how I know he's genuine. Players would be far too confident and smooth, and they'd certainly not look uncomfortable."
Sakura supposed that was true. "So, you think he's nice?" she grinned.
"He seems a grounded, respectable boy," her mother answered. Then she grudgingly told Sakura that although it was difficult for her to accept that anyone was good enough for her child, let alone trust a stranger, she saw no ill-intention in Kenji, and was not against the idea of Sakura getting to know him better.
"I agreed I'd let you experience life, as much as you can. Besides. Rather a nice normal mortal boy I can see, than a deceitful brat who steals you out from right under my nose," her mother scowled.
Sakura, amazed and grateful that her mother was finally warming up to the idea at last of her daughter maybe dating anyone, didn't dare to argue.
They discussed genjutsu before bed, with Sakura expressing an interest in learning more about how to break illusions. Tsunade agreed that they'd cover it in their next training sessions, and then they wished each other goodnight.
Ino called her just before bed like she always did, and demanded details about Kenji's visit, and then squealed to her that Sai had called her beautiful. Sakura had rolled her eyes, reminding Ino that she was mad for Shikamaru. Ino agreed she cared about Shikamaru greatly – but Sai was cute, and the fact he never complimented any girl was intensely flattering, prompting Sakura to laugh. The Goddess of Love, indeed; her affections swayed so eagerly from one handsome youth to the next.
By the time she got off the phone, Sakura crawled into her bed, exhausted from a busy, emotionally taxing day. She thought of the hospital, of the soul she'd seen leaving Ruka's body, wondering once more why she had seen it in that particular instance. Who could she ask about that? Then she thought of Ken and the way his face so obviously lit up whenever he saw her, how well they got along. Finally she drifted off to sleep, some point just before midnight.
Kore stood with her hands behind her back, watching as Hades sharpened the edge of his sword. They were waiting for Apollo to return. He'd briefly left them under the shady canopy of trees, situated by a pretty little stream, to answer one of the elder deity's calls. Hades had sat upon one of the boulders and unsheathed his blade while they anticipated Apollo's return, proceeding to polish and refine it.
Rocking back and forth on her feet, she questioned, "Is it heavy?"
Hades didn't look up, continuing to stroke down the metal. "Probably," he replied flatly. Then he added, "For you."
She made a little indignant sound. "Can I try holding it?"
"It's too heavy," he dismissed.
"Let me try," Kore insisted.
He did look up then. Steel-flinted dark eyes examined her a moment, and then he silently flipped the blade expertly in his hold, and held out the hilt to her.
Kore wrapped her fingers around the cool base of the sword, and took its weight, only for her arm to buckle.
Hades smirked at her pointedly. Bringing her other hand to join the first, she managed to hold it up, admiring its excellent craftsmanship. "This is a fine sword," she complimented. "Does it have a name?"
"Kusanagi," Hades replied, leaning back on his hands leisurely. Then he observed, "You're holding it wrong."
Kore pulled a face. "What other way is there to hold a sword than upright?"
"Your posture is wrong," Hades nodded toward her footwork.
"It's not like anyone teaches me," she pouted. Hades watched her expression then change as she looked at him, eyes lighting up with what he was sure she believed was a fabulous idea.
"No," he automatically said, at the precise same time she said, "You could teach me!"
"Why not?" Kore demanded. "I could be really good at it! I just need a good teacher."
"Ask Dead-Last," Hades looked bored. "His swordplay is more basic and suited to a complete amateur-" he broke off abruptly, feeling cool steel kiss against his skin. Kore was boldly holding the tip of the sword against his throat.
He raised an eyebrow at her, unconcerned. "What are you doing?" he drawled silkily.
Holding his gaze, she stepped forward, maintaining the weight of the sword with both hands. "Making sure you teach me," she replied sweetly.
Something danced across his eyes. Then he briefly closed them, releasing a condescending snort. "You have five seconds," he informed her.
"Huh?" Caught off guard, Kore faltered. "Until what-?" she then gasped, when he suddenly moved without warning, effortlessly disarming her and pressing her back against the trunk of the tree beside them with such speed, Kore had next to no time to react.
She felt metal against her throat, as Hades held her in place, trapping her between the tree and his body.
Then he quipped simply, "Until I do this."
His lips crashed against hers. Kore's eyes widened, her body immediately responding, igniting with desire. But it was daylight. Their friend would return at any moment. What was Hades doing, kissing her so openly?
"Wait," she whispered, between breathless, impassioned, sanity stealing kisses, "A-Apollo's not far. Hades, what if someone sees usnff…" her final word was swallowed up by another rough, silencing kiss.
"Scared, goddess?" he taunted wickedly into her ear. Kore gulped as warm lips trailed along the arch of her throat, blistering against her flesh, feverishly-hot, summoning heat that roared to life in her bloodstream. When those lips found hers again, they melted against her own, searing, obliterating; kissing her with an all-consuming passion and intensity that left her head spinning.
It was always the same. Stolen kisses deep within whatever forests they could find cover in. But never had he kissed her in the light of day, and as his kisses deepened, Kore found it increasingly difficult to worry, lifted her hands, raking them through his long, dark hair, enjoying its fine texture between her fingertips.
She was burning for him, burning, craving, wanting, needing his darkness, as much as she needed the air in her lungs. He lowered his sword and snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her snugly against him, fuelling the sparks that flew between their bodies. She was falling. Falling. Deeper and deeper into a darkness she never wanted to leave. His darkness. She could feel her heart galloping within her chest, beating hard because of him. For him. She felt his own, racing just as fast.
The sound of twigs snapping under foot nearby jerked them away from each other. Kore's stomach lurched, as she turned her head to the right, leaping away from the tree and Hades like they had scalded her. Hades quickly returned to sharpening his sword nonchalantly. He cast a sardonic, smirking, surreptitious glance at Kore as she leant down by the stream and splashed water on her face to cool her burning cheeks.
"Well, that was a complete waste of my time!" Apollo declared, as he appeared through the clearing in the trees and re-joined them, having completed his short errand. "C'mon, guys! Last one to the next clearing has to prank Kakashi-sensei next!"
Hades had already gotten up and moved before Apollo had even finished his sentence.
"Hey!" Apollo yelled, pointing almost comically in accusation. "Bastard! Get back here! I never said start-"
"Dead-Last!" Hades mocked back.
"You asshole!" his friend shouted, racing after him.
"Hey, wait for me!" Kore protested at them both, picking up the skirt of her tunic and giving chase.
The pleasant scene turned to grey around her. Her vision was clouding. Someone was sobbing over her, calling her name over and over again in despair.
'Kore. Kore, please…'
Visions blurred together, a rush of them, of different people, different scenes, flashing too fast for her to clearly see any of them, hurtling faster and faster until they became a dizzying blur, like a movie reel playing out of control on extreme fast forward.
And then abruptly came the darkness. And then came the pain. Then the spinning kaleidoscope of a Sharingan, piercing into her skull. She tried to draw breath into her lungs, but her entire body was feverish, scorching now unpleasantly. She screamed without a sound, her eyes unseeing, the burning within making her want to claw at her own chest, agonising, unbearable. She was oozing shadows, thick black liquid that wouldn't stop spilling out of her. The shadows cleared just enough for her to see a pale, crying face, blurred out of focus above her, as the same voice continued to weep her name.
"Sakura!" A voice called urgently, beyond the echoing rush of insidious whispers that she couldn't quite comprehend. "Sakura!"
The shadows closed in around her again, preventing her from moving, preventing her eyes from opening.
Tsunade watched in horror, as her daughter writhed on the bed, releasing a scream so heart-piercing, it caused all the blood to drain from her mother's face. Assuming she was having a seizure of some sort, she tried to remain calm. But this was nothing like any attack she had seen. Sakura wasn't waking up or showing any signs of hearing her. She was scratching at her chest, leaving raw red marks on her skin, as if she subconsciously sought to remove something from within herself. She'd never made such dreadful noises before.
Tsunade tried to stabilise the girl with a light wave of soothing, healing chakra, and then an ambrosia injection straight into the vein in her right arm. When it didn't work, and Sakura continued to scream like a girl possessed, her mother drew in a choked sob, andmentally called to the first person who came into her mind, the person she knew could arrive fastest.
'Jiraiya!'
The seconds that passed until he materialised at her call seemed to pass far too slowly, but materialise he did, using the forbidden transportation jutsu without a care in response to the uncharacteristic urgency he'd heard in her telekinetic call.
"I don't know what is happening," Tsunade exclaimed, trying to syringe more of the golden liquid into Sakura's veins with shaking hands. "She won't stop screaming! Do something!"
"Let me see," Jiraiya ordered, and placed a hand on Sakura's forehead, closing his eyes. He tried to see into her mind, to connect to her thoughts using what remnants of sage chakra he could summon. His attempt resulted in a painful jolt of white light that exploded behind his eyes, and the briefest flash of an impossibly intricate seal that he didn't even have time to make out, before it faded and he stumbled backward, stunned.
"What is it?" Tsunade gripped onto his arm desperately, breathing quickly, panic mounting in her eyes. "Jiraiya-"
"Her seal," Jiraiya got out. "It wouldn't let me connect to her mind-"
Sakura released a pained moan, and then abruptly grew quiet. Her seizing stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Both elder deities held their breaths, staring fearfully at her. Tsunade reached out with unsteady hands to check her child's pulse. She felt it beating, fast, but regular. Her breathing soon slowed, became deeper, and her mother finally allowed herself to exhale in relief.
Then she shared a confused, apprehensive look with Jiraiya, at a loss to understand just what had happened, and why Sakura had suddenly grown still.
Jiraiya stood up, and walked to the window, throwing back the curtains. He stared out hard into the darkness, as if it afforded him an explanation.
Are you there? He thought out telepathically. Did you stop it?
The darkness stared back at him in silence.
Outside Sakura's window, alighted in the tree directly opposite her room, and concealed from watching eyes by the Helm of Darkness, Sasuke released an uneven breath, leaning his forehead against the cold, rough bark of the tree's trunk. He closed his eyes briefly, willing his racing heart to settle.
He had felt it in the Underworld – her life force flaring chaotically, even at the great distance over which they had been apart. It had brought him to her in a heart-beat and with some effort, he'd managed to stabilise Sakura's attack, soothing her wildly spiking chakra levels with a powerfully enforced command of sleep, effectively robbing her of even the consciousness of dreams – but not without catching a glimpse of what it was he had seen plaguing her fitful slumber.
Himself. Hades. Standing over the lifeless body of a girl with pink hair, cradled in the arms of another weeping goddess. It had been a vision that had only lasted for a split second – before unbelievable pain had throbbed through his skull, flashing white, severing the brief, telepathic connection between them.
He remained there, concealed in shadows, watching the two elder deities that kept vigil over her, until he was certain that she was out of immediate danger. Then he flickered back to the Underworld's entrance, his back slamming against the rough cavern wall next to where Cerberus was stationed, his legs feeling uncharacteristically unsteady beneath him. Sinking to rest on the balls of his feet, he stared unseeingly ahead, disturbed by what he had seen, his mind a whirlwind of pandemonium.
One of Cerberus's mighty snouts lowered to nudge his shoulder, exhaling smoke, the loyal beast sensing his Master's unease. Sasuke didn't respond, lost in his thoughts. She had told him. She had told him that Hades had known Kore. He'd dismissed it as nonsense. But if it were true that she were fabricating it all from her imagination, how had she seen him in her dream, exactly as he had appeared back then?
He didn't understand, damn it. There was no way she could imagine what she had never seen – unless she had indeed seen it before, in another lifetime.
Which once again suggested that Sakura was not the only one who had missing memories.
If it were the case, how could he not regain them drinking from the memory restoring spring? He'd seen the flash of a seal in her mind, right before the connection had broken. But even as he tried to recall it, he could not. It had burned his mind's eye to even look upon it. His skull still throbbed.
Something wasn't adding up, Sasuke knew. He had to find out what. But how? He was alone in his theories and thoughts, with nobody to share them with. Chiyo was of little help. She confirmed and denied as she saw fit, and he wouldn't waste any more time playing guessing games. Not when Sakura's mortal stability was so clearly unpredictable.
Sakura.
He tried to block it out. To block it all out. Anytime she called to him, whether intentionally or otherwise. But the tie between them, the unbreakable link, the communication channel which the seeds she'd consumed had allowed to open, was difficult to ignore. He heard her. He had felt it when her life force was at unrest. He had heard her plead for the child's life to be spared earlier that day.
Running a hand through disorderly strands of raven hair, Sasuke exhaled heavily. He fluidly rose back to his feet – at the precise moment Cerberus began to growl menacingly, detecting an unwanted intruder. Looking ahead into the dense, cold fog, Sasuke engaged his Sharingan, seeking out the source of the disturbance.
He found it in the form of an androgynous shadow that slunk through the mist. It stopped several meters away, and stared at Sasuke in silence.
Sasuke stared at the monstrosity standing before him. It wasn't human. It had no features – save for odd yellow eyes and a wide, sharp-toothed mouth. Its fingers were claw shaped, but no other details were visible upon it – just inky black skin that lacked definition of any kind. It looked like a counterpart of the spore Sasuke had felled outside of Tsunade's home – but a sturdier, taller model that was entirely black instead of white.
Cerberus barked, lunging forward automatically to tear the creature to shreds – but Sasuke's immediate, telepathic command stilled the behemoth, and he called out in warning, "Another of the serpent's creations? I already told you. Anything unnatural that defies the balance of life and death, I will strike down."
The creature tilted its head, and flashed its jagged teeth, grinning manically. Then it spoke, and it was not the language of a monster, or Orochimaru.
The voice echoed strongly around the cavern, as if it were merely being projected through a vessel, rather than belonging to the black entity itself. It was one Sasuke would recognise anywhere, anytime, a most-hated sound he loathed to hear.
"I am proud to see you serve the Underworld so well, young Sasuke."
Sasuke's heart lurched unpleasantly. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Cronus. Madara.
In an instant he had sprung nimbly forward, Kusanagi drawn back, blade hissing with deadly, potent electricity, ready to slice the creature to pieces – only for it to immediately liquidise into a pool of black as the sword whistled straight through its body, connecting with nothing but air. Sasuke swung around, to find the creature reappearing noiselessly behind him.
"You dare come here-" Sasuke began, thoroughly enraged.
"Dare?" Cronus repeated. "I built this realm. The power that flows through your veins now… you have me to thank for it."
"Get out!" Sasuke sent a crackling strike of focused lightning at the creature. It melted into a puddle, but continued to speak, much to the death deity's irritation.
"There's no need for such theatrics, boy," Cronus's voice resounded patronisingly. "I have come to speak with you about matters of mutual concern. You would perhaps find it in your best interests to listen."
"Shut up," Sasuke snarled, and lunged at the androgynous form once more. Again it dissipated into liquid, vanishing into the ground. Sasuke watched it rematerialize with displeased confusion. Only Suigetsu had the ability to shed his form in water. What in the world was this thing?
"There is no use attacking this creature," Cronus's voice echoed. "It will simply continue to turn to liquid, until I sever the connection between my consciousness and its own. And I will not sever it, until we have spoken."
"I have nothing to say to you," Sasuke glowered hatefully at the dark monstrosity. He was willing to wager every piece of precious gemstone and metal within his realm that the snake Orochimaru had something to do with this unexpected arrangement.
"On the contrary, we have much to discuss. Now. Will we continue in this senseless dance, or are you going to rein in that temper, and lend me your ear?"
Sasuke glared daggers at him. He didn't appreciate being spoken to like a child, and he wanted nothing more than to take out this form that masqueraded as his ancestor. But he pushed back his murderous intent, willing himself to calm down, thinking that maybe he could learn something to his advantage. Cronus clearly needed him, to be here communicating to him through a host body. Perhaps, Sasuke thought, he could twist this encounter in his favour, somehow.
But he needed to be very careful. Cronus was anything but a fool. One of the smartest of his clan, he wasn't easy to mislead, or lie to.
"Good," Cronus sounded pleased, as Sasuke lowered – but did not sheathe – his sword. "Now that you are being reasonable, you will recall what we told you of Edo Tensei, the technique we wish to perfect. It indeed has the power to restore souls to their physical forms – but we need your cooperation to achieve it."
Sasuke listened in frosty silence, gripping the hilt of Kusanagi so tightly, he could feel the muscles in his left arm straining.
"You have absolute dominion over death, now. You know of every seal that reverses death there is. You have grown more adept at it than I certainly ever was. You have always had great potential, young Sasuke. Death was never my forte… devouring time and its manipulation; that is where my strengths lie."
"If you came here to flatter me," Sasuke deadpanned, "save it."
"I came here to offer a proposition. Orochimaru has already told you of part of our plans. I had hoped the prospect of revenge on the surface folk would encourage you to assist us in our cause, but I see that you may need a little further… persuasion."
"You have nothing I need," Sasuke disregarded.
"Ah, but there is something you lack, that only I can assist you in gaining. I know you, boy. Above all else, you desire power, to be stronger than anyone else. A true descendant of mine, indeed. What if there was a way to obtain the ultimate power, the ultimate vision? Eyes that can see everything, with more clarity than even our own?"
Sasuke stared at him in carefully-checked dismay. He was just as raving and insane as he had ever been, but had an infuriating manner of making suggestions in such reasonable tones, that it equally seemed just as mad to refuse him. "What are you talking about?" he demanded harshly. "There is nothing my eyes cannot see here."
"Here, yes. You have dominion over your Kingdom. But what about beyond it? Your eyes do not perceive the pure realm. The Sharingan, for all its powers, lacks that divine sight."
The pure realm, where deities who had spent their purpose and passed on resided. He thought of his family, briefly. Felt a swell of pain and unspeakable rage at what he knew were Madara's cruel attempts to manipulate him like he was some naïve youth still, like a chess pawn who wasn't capable of seeing through his lies and tricks. But still he listened.
"The Rinnegan…" Cronus explained. "Formed through the fusion of Uchiha and Senju DNA. I offer you those eyes. Think, boy. Think that there will be no medium which you cannot see. The most complex of ancient seals, chakra in all its sources and flows, the most hidden of divine, spiritual planes… all will be visible to you. You will be able to manipulate space and time itself."
Sasuke couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. The Rinnegan. Was that what Madara was truly after? Sasuke had read about the Rinnegan before, a spiralling, ripple-patterned iris that offered ocular powers extending beyond even the capabilities of the Sharingan or Byakugan. It was the most exalted of the divine eyes that had been passed down through three prestigious deity lines.
But that eye had been activated only by direct descendants of Gaia, the first Goddess, whose true given name had been Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Her sons and grandsons, who had been the founding fathers of the Uchiha and Senju clans respectively, had possessed Rinnegan by merging Senju and Uchiha blood. However, the more diluted the bloodlines became, the more difficult it was to activate the eye.
"As the first ruler of the Uchiha in the Underworld, I have already passed onto you the genetics you require on the part. All that's missing, is to merge it with pure Senju DNA."
"And where," Sasuke questioned sceptically, "do you think you'll find that?"
"Tsunade possesses Senju blood. So does Naruto, through his parentage. But it would take a longer time to await its unlocking if we were to merge our blood with theirs. A far superior sample would awaken the Rinnegan sooner." Cronus replied. "The blood of kings…"
Sasuke hated how he was using 'we'. Arrogantly assuming that the death deity was on board with his power-hungry plans already. But Madara's words repeated in his head. The most complex of ancient seals, Sasuke thought, his mind racing. Would he be able to see even Sakura's? Whether one had possibly been placed on him, too?
"We both desire the same thing," Cronus pressed on. "I, too, seek revenge on those who imprisoned me. Work with me, and we will avenge our clan."
"Our?" Sasuke blinked. "You betrayed us! You marched my family to their ends, knowing full well what the war would cost us, just so you could have the throne at Olympus."
"They knew the risks of war," the elder Titan rebuffed. "They chose to follow me, believing in my cause. How long did the surface gods shun us, while they enjoyed the bounties of their world, while mortals prayed to them instead of us? Have you forgotten, boy? You, too, followed me into war."
"You told us all there was no way we'd lose!" Sasuke fired back. "Instead it cost me everything!"
"Let us put it right! With Edo-tensei, we can not only revive souls once we achieve it… we can restore the entire clan, as it was!"
"You lie," Sasuke rejected. "We both know that isn't possible. Edo-tensei would allow you to bring the dead back under your control. They'd have no free will of their own. They would not be living."
"With your Sharingan, and mine, with the acquisition of the Rinnegan, everything will be possible," Cronus's voice was like silk wrapped steel, seductive, reasonable, betraying nothing of the madman that dwelled deep within that cunning, power-lusting mind. "You have absolute power of the dead. I have absolute power of time. Together, Sasuke, we can bend the rules of the natural order of the world. Bend them to our will. We need answer to no other. We will achieve Edo-Tensei, perfected, through the use of Rinnegan. And we will restore our clan to its former glory, and crush the surface gods. Just imagine it! Your mother. Your father. Itachi. All restored, as they were, their memories and emotions all intact. We need only awaken the divine eyes, to make it possible."
"Why would I help you?" said Sasuke icily.
"We want precisely the same thing. To restore the clan. To avenge them."
"And in return? What do you want?" the death deity's eyes narrowed. He didn't trust Madara one bit.
"We must locate the missing phial. Find it, return it to us, and I give you my word, I will give you the Rinnegan."
"Your 'word'?" Sasuke almost released a sharp laugh at that, "means nothing to me. And that's too little to ask for in exchange for such a gift. What else?"
The dark creature tilted its head. "Of course, we would require some manner of insurance that you would be assisting us."
Sasuke waited for the catch.
"The Cursed Seal of Heaven. Accept it, and the Rinnegan will be your reward."
"…!" Sasuke struggled to remain composed. The Cursed Seal of Heaven was Orochimaru's curse seal, where he infused his own chakra into his selected host and effectively gained some degree of control over their mind and body, depending on how often the seal was activated. It granted its host enhanced, additional physical prowess and increased chakra levels, borne of the serpent's chakra whenever the seal was activated. It was a thoroughly nasty binding contract. Sasuke was no fool. He could already see what Madara was trying to do – offer him great power, but ensure that he complied fully with their plans. And Sasuke knew all about Orochimaru's slimy, forbidden arts. The seal was designed to corrode the mind, and eventually overwhelm its host body completely, so that Orochimaru could then possess it as his own personal host.
Orochimaru wanted the Sharingan. He always had. He'd foolishly tried to obtain it from Itachi once, but had failed catastrophically. Now he believed he had a chance with Sasuke. The death deity felt repulsed by the very idea of allowing the serpent's chakra to invade his own body. Did they really think he was a simpleton? That he couldn't see their intentions and ulterior motives?
"You offer the Rinnegan, if I enslave my will to the serpent?" His voice was cutting. Dangerous.
"You have no need to activate his seal and accelerate its progression in your body… consequently it will be very difficult for him to possess a deity with your degree of abilities and power. You have my word, your free will, will remain free. It is merely a token of your sincerity. I cannot allow the serpent to possess your body. You have a Kingdom to run. All the seal allows us to do, is keep track of your whereabouts, to ensure you are truly in league with us. A fair and simple trade, is it not, for eyes that see everything?"
Sasuke was silent for a long moment. Weighing the risks. Calculating. The whole proposal was dangerous, had the potential to go disastrously wrong.
Or, it had the potential to give him exactly what tools he needed to end Sakura's cycle of rebirth for good.
"I did not expect you to comply willingly, even with everything I am offering you," Cronus's voice echoed. "Perhaps you need to see proof of our plans, to believe in my words. Let me show you."
The dark creature's yellow eyes suddenly bled to crimson.
For the first time, Sasuke's external expression slipped. His face registered uncertainty, doubt, and his grip around Kusanagi tightened once more, not knowing what limits Cronus had in terms of channelling his Sharingan's abilities through a host body – at the exact moment the Titan cast a genjustu through the creature, one that rolled out around the cavern, vivid enough to recreate the circular throne room of Olympus, enclosed in mighty but damaged columns that climbed skyward. All around the once resplendent room, were fallen pillars and once luxurious tapestries, lying in ruin. The illusion stretched all around Sasuke, in all directions across the Underworld's entrance, giving the impression that he had been transported there directly in person.
Was this really the throne room? Or just what Cronus wanted him to see? Sasuke felt disorientated, as he surveyed the scene with his own Sharingan. How would he know? He'd not seen the throne room since the very last time he'd visited it with his family, way before the war had started.
In front of him were two golden, regal thrones, their shine dulled by the passing of time, but resplendent nonetheless, set upon a pure white marble dais. Cronus – in his true form, sat upon the larger of the seats, clad in black and red, the colours of their clan. Seeing him again, even in genjustu, was an unpleasant, icy shock to Sasuke's system. It took all his self-control to not leap at the elder deity and attempt to carve out that smirking face right then and there. He knew better, that it was hopeless, anyway. It was only an illusion, meant to show Sasuke whatever it was that Cronus wished to reveal to him.
Cronus gestured invitingly behind him. Sasuke turned, noticing a tall crystalline structure to his right. He approached it slowly, cautiously, his heart thudding against his rib-cage, not knowing what to expect. As he neared it, he caught glimpse of a pale face, encased within the thick, impermeable crystal. Sasuke stared at it, initially unable to place the features.
Pale and narrow, with fiery red hair.
Red hair.
He inhaled sharply, recognition smashing into him with all the suddenness of a roaring tsunami. He understood what he was looking at. Who he was looking at. The sheer magnitude of it rooted him to the spot.
"You see? Senju blood in pure form," Madara boasted.
It can't be, Sasuke thought, disturbed to the core.
"It gets better," Cronus's voice was now seemingly right behind him, causing Sasuke to tense and step back. He watched as the elder deity's apparition walked around the crystal, to the other side of it. Sasuke followed him, almost dreading what he would see next – even when a part of him knew exactly what he would find.
When his eyes lifted and rested on the next face enclosed within the crystalline prison, his lips parted in stunned shock, a sharp intake of breath catching in his throat.
It wasn't possible. It just couldn't be… how…? He had to have fabricated it, somehow... and yet even as he thought it, Sasuke knew that wasn't true. Somehow, he knew. This was real. And it changed everything.
"You see, boy?" Madara's voice was smug beside him, and this time Sasuke did not draw away, too transfixed by the sight before him to move. "We have everything we need. I have already fused their DNA with my own Sharingan. Soon, my Rinnegan will be awakened. Join us, and we will end the surface gods using the very precious leader they believed lost to them forever."
Sasuke's eyes remained on the face of the slumbering deity contained within its entrapment. He hadn't aged even a day. The God of Death wondered what had gone wrong. How they'd both been captured, prevented from passing on. Whether Cronus needed Edo-Tensei to revive them, too, and what exactly his plans for the pair were. Nothing good, Sasuke was sure.
Through all those thoughts, one word reverberated loudest of all. A single name, of the person who would be the most devastated when he found out.
Naruto. He had no idea. None of them did.
"I will return in three surface days to know your decision. Consider my words, carefully, young Sasuke," Cronus's voice was fading, as the genjutsu began to unravel around him, its caster retreating within his borrowed body.
"I offer you power, and revenge. Find the missing phial. Accept the seal. Assist us. And we shall have our vengeance."
Zeus's motionless face was the last thing Sasuke saw, before the illusion dispelled completely all around him, blowing away like sands in cold billowing mist, leaving him alone once more at the entrance to his Kingdom, Cerberus barking deafeningly behind him.
Author's note
Gasp! Cronus/Madara has WHO in his possession?! THE PLOT THICKENS! Would love to know everyone's thoughts on this chapter. Lots of plot to get through, and lots of unexpected turns! If you could leave a review, that'd be super. See you next update!