Quietus

by Seraphina Scribes

When first he laid eyes upon her, he thought her the very personification of spring. He watches, from the depths of shadow; waiting to steal her away from the land of the living. Waiting to make her Queen of the Dead. Hades/Persephone retold. SasuSaku/AU.

76. Chapter 75

Chapter LXXV

---

Rich in deceit and gilded lies,
Ages of truth are scattered asunder,
As the past unfurls before dubious eyes,
Resounding with the force of mighty thunder,
A memory orb that contains within,
Remnants of actions long since taken,
A war in which no side did win,
Leaving Death bereft, undone, shaken.

---

"Sphinxes," Kakashi murmured. "Well. There's good news and bad news."

Sakura glanced across at him with uncertainty as the two humongous creatures slowly prowled around them, their feral golden eyes fixed intently onto Team Seven. They automatically adopted a circle formation to cover everyone's backs and track the movement of the monsters from all angles.

Around them, torches had blazed to life in metal sconces that were mounted upon the underground cavern's rocky walls, revealing the true expanse of their enormous surroundings. They had plunged through a gap in the surface high above them, a gaping hole still spilling particles of sand that were swallowed up by a wide expanse of water directly beneath the opening. A simple suspension bridge consisting of rope and logs extended from the rocky island they'd alighted on and led over the body of water to another platform, behind which was a huge, intricate temple structure carved straight into the sandstone rockface. The entrance inside was once again blocked by a glowing, impenetrable golden barrier.

"What's the good news, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"We won't need to use up any chakra in this battle, provided we play it smart," Kakashi announced. "The sphinx guards treasures with riddles. If we solve them, we'll be allowed passage across."

"And the bad news...?" Naruto questioned nervously, shaking water out of his hair.

"They'll eat you alive if you solve it wrong…" Kakashi replied blithely.

"Wh-what?" Sakura gaped at how remarkably unaffected their mentor seemed to be by this disturbing fact. She wrung water out the base of her top, uncomfortable in her soaked clothing. They were all drenched and looked in a less than flattering state courtesy of their unpleasant landing.

"Though, I'm not so sure that would kill a deity…" Kakashi mused.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed, appalled.

Sasuke scowled, pushing irritatingly wet strands of hair out of his face.

"A great treasure you seek, behind these walls." The stalking sphinxes spoke together, in booming, echoing, feminine-tinged voices that were inhuman, without moving their mouths as they continued to circle the four. "They will yield only to those who hear its call. Not above nor below, but in the middle. Answer and pass through, if you solve our riddles."

Poetry-sprouting monsters? Sakura was no longer surprised by anything.

"Give us the answer that is true, and part we shall aside for you. Answer in any other way and forfeit the mortal amongst you this day. Two chances for you to answer right. On the third wrong attempt, the mortal we smite."

"It seems they have a preference for mortal meat, after all," Kakashi said mildly.

Sakura stiffened. "K-Kakashi-sensei!" She stuttered, horrified.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. No way we'll lose! How hard can their stupid riddles be?" He punched his fists together. "Bring it on!"

Sasuke's lips curled back into a contemptuous sneer. If they left solving a riddle to Naruto, they'd fail miserably at it.

"We accept," Kakashi spoke. "We are ready for your riddles."

The sphinxes appeared pleased, and wasted no time in speaking their first puzzle.

"A creature exists, that has one voice, compelled to speak, though it has the choice, and yet it becomes four-footed and then two, until at last three-footed, what say to this you?"

"Eh?" Naruto squinted. "The hell does that mean, -ttebayo?"

Sakura's mind raced. One voice, four feet, then two, then three… what was it? How did an animal change the amount of feet it had? She stared up at the creatures, nonplussed.

"Your time has begun," the sphinxes cautioned, their voices reverberating loudly in the air. "Too late to flee, too late to run."

"What?!" Naruto squawked. "Th-they didn't say anything about a timer before we accepted!"

"Sphinxes do that," Kakashi informed them levelly. "The reason they're so dangerous is because the riddles they pose are timed, and you never know how many they give you. If we had all the time in the world, this obstacle wouldn't exactly be an issue."

"That isn't fair," Sakura protested. "You never told us how much time we have!"

"A minute have you, to decree." The prowling sphinxes glowered hungrily down at them. "Choose your answers carefully."

A minute? Sakura was dismayed. That wasn't nearly enough time, and left them open to guessing wildly under pressure.

"Uh- uh… toads!" Naruto blurted out.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped. "We didn't agree on that-!"

A horrendous, rumbling laugh bounced around the cavern. Sakura felt it rattle her bones. The sphinxes had clearly found amusement in the wrong answer.

"That is incorrect. One more try you will get."

"You idiot!" Sasuke hissed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Naruto held up his hands apologetically. "I freaked out, I hate timed tasks! Quick, let's just think of something else!"

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped harshly, tossing an irate glance at the sun deity. "Keep your mouth shut. When it comes to riddles, you're dead last."

Naruto's mouth fell open in shock. Dead last. The last time he had heard that term from Sasuke had been long before the war. He'd absolutely hated the insulting form of address before. But right then, he was overcome with an unexpected, overwhelming wave of nostalgia. He wondered if Sasuke even realised what he had just said, or its significance - or whether it even meant anything to Sasuke at all, to utter it again. But Sasuke wasn't even looking his way anymore.

"Ten seconds…"

Sakura's heart pounded.

"Nine seconds…."

"Shit! Shit, what's the answer?!" Naruto panicked.

"Eight seconds…"

Sakura was frantic. One voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed… what was it, what was it?

"Seven seconds…"

"Someone say something! I'm gonna guess again, -ttebayo!"

"I said keep your mouth shut-"

"I don't see you helping either, you asshole! You're meant to be so smart-!"

Kakashi's lone-eye drooped in disbelief. They were arguing when they had seconds left to provide a correct answer? Had none of his words in the forest sunk in at all?

"Three seconds…"

"Humans!" Sakura cried, the word tumbling from her mouth in desperation. "A human has one voice, crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two feet, and then uses a walking stick in old age - that's three feet!"

"Ah," Kakashi said in a low voice. "Of course…"

There was a long, tense pause. Finally the sphinxes growled. "That answer is the one we seek. The next riddle, hear us speak."

Sakura felt immense relief flood through her at saving her team. Her heart was pounding. The answer had occurred to her just in the nick of time, and she hoped the next riddle would be easier.

"Great job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto praised.

"Two sisters there are: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Neither is better, nor worse. Who could the sisters be? Answer this truthfully." The sphinxes posed next.

"Eh?" Naruto threw his hands up into the air. "That doesn't even make any sense? How can sisters give birth to each other?"

"Stop thinking so literally, Naruto," Kakashi admonished. That one was obvious. "It's night and day," he supplied.

A reluctant, acknowledging rumble filled the air. "That answer is the one we seek. The next riddle, hear us speak."

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto grinned.

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, and cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes its touch fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, and kills laughter. What is it?" The sphinxes asked.

Sakura frowned to herself. What lay behind stars? The night. But night could be seen?

"Darkness," Sasuke quipped flatly, within seconds.

"That is correct." The Sphinxes seemed displeased.

"Good work, Sasuke," Kakashi nodded.

"Our final riddle, the very last. Answer true and you shall pass."

"Alright, finally!" Naruto punched a fist into the air.

"I am something humans hate to love. I am something they love to hate. I change appearances and thoughts and am a topic to debate. If a person takes heed of their own, I will climb ever higher. The higher though I climb, the younger I am to desire. To some I will fool them. To others I am a mystery. I will always show myself, though some may wish to hide me. No matter how hard people try I will never go down. I am the joy of youth. A time-ravaged weary frown. What am I?"

"C'mon, that's so hard!" Naruto whinged.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Naruto was the only one out of them who hadn't guessed any right, which came as absolutely no surprise to him. He doubted the sun deity could even solve the simplest of riddles.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura turned her head toward their mentor anxiously. "Do you have any idea?"

"They're known to leave the hardest until last," Kakashi's thoughts raced, trying to decode the riddle in time.

"Twenty seconds you have left to say, else the mortal we'll take away." The Sphinxes said.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Not if he had anything to do with it, he silently thought to himself - but wanted to avoid a battle with the behemoth monsters at all costs. His mind drew up a blank as the seconds continued to pass by. He didn't know the answer.

"Quick, quick, we have to say something!" Naruto urged. "I'll guess!"

"No, wait, let me think!" Sakura pressed her hands against her head in rising panic. What climbed higher and couldn't be hidden? Was capable of fooling people and never came down? Something that could alter appearances, that humans loved and hated?

"Make up!" Naruto sprouted, guessed wildly. "That changes appearances - right?"

"You utter moron," Sasuke ground out through clenched teeth. He had only disregarded ninety-nine percent of the rest of the riddle.

"You are incorrect. Only five seconds are left."

Sakura gasped out, "Age! It's age! Humans hate it when they're old and want to grow up when they're young! It always goes up and never comes down in number. People want to reverse it but it can't be hidden. That's the answer," she looked up at the sphinxes hopefully. "Right?"

There was a heavy pause, and then, to her utter relief, the sphinxes growled, clearly disappointed and lowered their heads.

"You have passed the test. Proceed through and meet your next."

"Alright, Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned to envelop her in a big bear hug. "You're so smart! Way to go!"

"Nicely done, Sakura," Kakashi congratulated. "You've saved us a fair bit of chakra."

Sakura grinned and glanced across at Sasuke.

"..." His eyes met hers briefly before slipping nonchalantly away. He gave no verbal or visible acknowledgement of her achievement. Sakura felt some of her pride deflate. Why did he have to be so- so-

So stubborn and frustrating?

She didn't care, she told herself. It wasn't like he was anyone she needed to impress. Shrugging it off, she followed Kakashi and Naruto across the suspension bridge as the sphinxes melted back into the shadows. Stepping onto the platform on the other side, they walked up to the temple structure, intricately carved into the rock-face.

"Wow," Sakura breathed appreciatively, reaching out to touch the cool sandstone. The architecture was certainly impressive, consisting of tall pillars and arched openings. The glowing entrance barrier had vanished upon their successful answering of the riddles, allowing them to venture freely inside. They walked through a narrow corridor, which eventually led them to sandy, dusty, steep steps. They climbed downwards, and Sakura counted fifty three of them, before they finally arrived at the bottom, stepping out into a narrow passageway. It ended with a solid concrete wall.

They moved aside, allowing Sasuke to reach out and dispel the genjutsu. The barrier melted away into shadows and they walked on through. Flaming torches were mounted on the walls on either side of them in iron sconces. The path continued ahead and then branched out in different curving directions, like a winding stone labyrinth. It appeared that they had entered an underground maze of sorts.

"Hey," Sakura pointed to an engraving that had been carved into the wall on their left. "Something's written there."

The symbols were engraved in an ancient language her eyes couldn't discern. Kakashi grabbed one of the torches from its wall bracket and lifted it to the inscription, reading it aloud.

---

"Four levers to shift the maze. Take caution not to lose your way.
Enter into the heart of the keep, therein the only exit sleeps.
Take heed and caution in these walls, where a Minotaur foul and furious prowls.
Watch your heads and watch your feet - lest an unpleasant demise you shall meet."

---

"Shift the maze?" Sakura touched the opposite wall. "Do these walls move, or something?"

"It would seem so," Kakashi affirmed. "According to this, we need to locate four levers and activate them to get to the heart of the maze. That's the way out."

"While hiding from a Minotaur. That's just great," Naruto remarked, sounding anything but enthusiastic.

"A minotaur?" Sakura placed a hand on her hip. "What's that, again?"

"It's this super gross, enormous monster, Sakura-chan," Naruto described, gesturing with his hands animatedly. "It has the head, tail and hooves of a bull, and the body of a man. I remember hearing it can breathe out fire, too."

"Hn. It's bark is worse than its bite," Sasuke supplied indifferently, surprising them all with his unexpected input.

"That's correct, Sasuke," Kakashi nodded. "It isn't a particularly intelligent creature. There's not much room to manoeuvre in a fight here, so we can probably take it out without much trouble. It's better to hide from it and run if we hear it approaching, though. That isn't the biggest problem we have."

Sakura turned back toward their mentor, who continued, "The inscription warns of traps. Watch your heads and feet."

"Four levers," Naruto ran a hand through his damp, messy blond spikes. "Would we get through faster if we split up, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Aah. The sooner we find those levers, the quicker we can exit this maze. Naruto," he indicated to the sun deity. "You take the path to the right. I'll take the one up ahead. Sasuke, Sakura, take the left. We'll have to communicate telepathically here. If you hear the minotaur, try not to engage, and stay aware of what's around you. Take a torch with you - it'll save us the hassle of using up our own."

"Right!" Naruto grabbed one off the wall. "Be careful, Sakura-chan! Oi, Sasuke. You better keep an eye on her," he added threateningly.

Sasuke lifted another of the burning torches, unsheathed Kusanagi and headed to the left, ignoring Naruto's warning entirely. Sakura cast her friend a reassuring look, before following after him. They rounded the corner, which led to another identical passage. As they continued along, Sakura's eyes kept darting gingerly from the sandy, gravelly floor, to the stone walls and high ceiling above their head.

She soon spied bones littering the ground and gulped nervously. What did minotaurs eat, she wondered? Where did this one get its food source from? Or had it been starved for centuries, eager to chew the meat and bones off the next hapless person who chanced to wander into its territory?

Sasuke felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly sink slightly, signalling that he had stepped onto something unseen, concealed by the dusting of sand at their feet. There was a clicking noise, which caused Sakura to freeze behind him.

"What was that?" she whispered nervously, looking around - only to gasp when Sasuke abruptly stepped back, grabbed her left shoulder and shoved her down - split-seconds before impaling blades shot out from both sides of the walls above them, criss-crossing together to form a grave of sharp spikes. Sakura gulped, heart racing at the closeness of the call. She'd had no idea, had not seen the pitfall trap coming. Had it not been for Sasuke-

"Th-thanks," she stammered, shaken by how quickly it had happened.

He angled a brief glance back at her, before ducking low to crawl under the nest of blades, leaving the torch behind. Sakura followed after him. Once they were out on the other side, she got back up to her feet, brushing the sand off her legs as Sasuke removed another torch from its wall mount. It wasn't long before they came to the end of a path that led to a giant pit. The ominous sound of hissing filled the air. Sakura drew up beside Sasuke, and looked down - to find a swarm of writhing vipers. There were hundreds of them, their tongues flicking and tasting the air - and no visible way across the gap - not for an ordinary person, at least.

Sakura felt her skin crawl. She hated snakes - especially after their encounter with the horrifying Medusa. Then she informed Sasuke, "You don't need to waste chakra. I can get us across." He blinked and to her pleasant surprise, stepped aside without a word, allowing her to take the lead. She lifted her hand and channelled the earth chakra-orb on her arm-brace, and carefully constructed an earthy bridge over the gap.

As she lowered her palm, Sasuke's eyes flicked onto her arm braces.

"Where did you get those chakra-crystals?"

Sakura, startled that he was actually choosing to speak with her, especially given the tension that had marred the last interaction they'd had, responded as she led the way over the snake-pit, "From the High Council's quarters. Elder Goddess Chiyo gave them to me so I can protect myself better. Ino got a supply, too."

Sasuke was silent behind her, and she supposed the short exchange was already over. They reached the other side and continued to walk along in stifling silence, feet crunching over stones and bones, when they heard a mighty, rumbling echo in the distance. Sakura turned her head. Was that the minotaur? It didn't sound anywhere nearby.

'Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura.' Kakashi's voice communicated to them telepathically. 'I've located one of the levers. Stay put. I'm about to pull it, which should change the layout of the maze. Have any of you located any of the others yet?'

'Nothing,' Sasuke informed him.

'Nothing here except booby-traps, -ttebayo!' Naruto reported.

'Keep looking. We don't know if there's any order to activating these levers, so I'll wait by this one until you find yours. Here goes.'

The telepathic link broke off, and sure enough, the walls around them shook and began to move before their very eyes. The path behind them closed off, and two new routes opened up ahead of them.

Sakura cast an uncertain look at the death deity.

"We should split up here, right? We'll cover ground quicker if we take separate paths?" she suggested.

"The contract," he stated simply, reminding her why he was on the mission with them at all, the predominant reason he had been compelled to tag along - to mind her and ensure her safety.

"I'll be fine." Sakura defended, folding her arms indignantly. "I know what to look out for, now. You can always just warp to me if I need you, right?"

"..." Fathomless ebony eyes met hers briefly. "Fine," he conceded curtly.

"Alright then," Sakura nodded, pleased that he was cooperating, and began to turn away from him.

"Sakura." His voice stopped her in her tracks. She turned to glance back at him.

"Don't be reckless."

She bristled at the word. "Stop calling me that," she said unhappily.

"Stop being it," he quipped back - and then lifted a palm, fingers splaying outward. Sakura's response caught in her throat as she watched mesmerising dark shadows swirl into existence at his command. A coolness washed over her, like a silken caress upon her skin - and she realised with a start that he had cloaked her in his very element, to keep her hidden in the maze. The rippling shadows around her pulsed and shifted, liquid-cool wisps that followed her movements, brimming with their own life-force. It made the cloaking orb she used seem like a pale imitation to the true darkness Sasuke commanded, an absolute power so unparalleled in its intensity.

She was suddenly reminded of her dream. Of the shadows that had kissed her skin. Feeling heat creep into her cheeks, she quickly turned away from him before he could detect her embarrassment, and practically sped around the corner, relieved when she was no longer in his line of sight.

Sakura continued onward, walking carefully along the edge of the walls. If she could avoid stepping onto any sinking hidden panels on the floor, she figured she could bypass most of the floor-triggered traps. Another ominous growl filled the air. It sounded closer, now.

Keeping her eyes peeled for any levers, she took another left turn - only for her gaze to widen when she discovered an armed centaur patrolling the passage she had stepped into. When the horse-man turned toward her, she froze, her heart jumping to her throat. But his eyes did not see her; the shadows Sasuke had commanded to mold to her body concealed her from the creature's view. Sakura inched cautiously closer, keeping her eyes fixed on him. It was difficult to go against the instinct to keep her distance, to remember that she was invisible, even with dark wisps rippling all around her. She waited for the centaur to turn away then lifted her hand and channelled fire chakra into her palm, sending it hurtling toward the beast. It slammed into him, startling him, and he released a cry of pain as the flames scalded his skin.

Sakura raced forward as the centaur battled to extinguish the flames on his body, eyes angrily trying to discern the source of the attack. But Sakura had already reached him and wasted no time in clipping the horse-man's legs. The centaur staggered to his knees and with an enraged roar swiped out with his club. Sakura nimbly leapt out of harm's way and passed him, leaving him injured behind, and rounded another corner - only to halt abruptly at what she saw. Large guillotines were swinging left and right from the enclosed labyrinth's stone roof. Sakura gulped, watching their movement. There were four of them, and the only way to pass through was to time her movements precisely.

She considered calling Sasuke for aid - but rejected the idea. She could manage. If she channelled her speed orb, she could move faster. Heart in her mouth, she waited, watching until she felt certain of the pattern of their swing - before sprinting ahead. The last guillotine whizzed by her, missing her back by inches. Sakura let out a deep sigh of relief - when the walls around her suddenly rumbled again, signalling that someone had found another lever.

'Got it, Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto informed them all telepathically a second later.

'Good work. Only two left. The minotaur is constantly moving - be careful,' Kakashi cautioned.

Sakura watched as the guillotines behind her were closed off by another sliding wall. A new path opened up to her right. She continued along, hurrying in her haste to find her lever. She passed by another wandering centaur, and was able to slip through unnoticed, quickly continuing on ahead - only for her feet to sink down onto the ground, even despite her efforts to keep to the edge of the path. She gasped, and glanced down at her boots. The sound of gears turning echoed in her ears and she looked up - to find spikes descending from the ceiling above her. Sakura dashed forward, instinctively summoning an earthy shield above her head. The spikes continued to lower, and her feet kept activating panels that sent flying metal discs spinning her way. One of them caught her arm, and she released a hiss of pain, diving around another corner that removed her from the perilous passageway.

She paused to catch her breath, lifting a hand to her injured limb, working quickly to mend the wound. Then her eyes lifted to find a dead end.

Huh? She blinked in confusion, walking up to it, and pressed her hands against the wall. It wouldn't budge. Frustrated, she inched back toward the passage she had left behind. That was also blocked by the spikes that had now reached the ground, sealing off any entrance or exit.

A deep, reverberating growl filled the air. Sakura spun, alarmed. It sounded closeby.

The walls around her suddenly shook again. She took it to mean that Sasuke had found a lever, too. She watched as the dead-end wall slid aside, revealing a new path. She followed it, walking forwards. It ended in another dead-end, with a right turn just before it. As Sakura rounded the corner, her eyes widened at what she spied prowling at the end of the new passageway.

A gargantuan monster towered ahead, possessing the head, hooves and tail of a flame-eyed bull, and the burly upper torso of a man. The beast's muscular arms were clad in metal gauntlets and a brown-loincloth was tied about his waist. His twitching ears were pierced with multiple, large silver rings, and a matching, enormous one adorned his snout. When the beast exhaled, thick smoke billowed out of his flaring nostrils. The monster dragged a terrifying-looking axe behind him, his long tail whipping back and forth. Sakura stood gaping at the creature, chilled to the bone. The monstrosity growled intimidatingly, a blood-curdling, ominous sound.

The minotaur, she realised, cursing her luck. There was no way for her to go back. The only route was ahead, and she couldn't continue without passing the creature. He was too enormous in size for her to sneak past. Sakura backed away slowly, her mind racing, trying to figure out how best to proceed. He couldn't see her. Would it be best to attack him from long-range with a lightning orb? But behind her was a dead-end. How was she going to run past him when there was barely any space to manoeuvre to do so?

Distraction was her best bet, she reasoned - when a sudden idea occurred to her. What if she used her cloaking orb on the minotaur? Would it blind him? She'd seen Sasuke do something similar with his element. It was a safer option than hitting the creature outright, and risking his anger - better to confuse it, Sakura determined. But first she had to lure it close enough to the turn around the corner behind her, which would allow her more room to slip by the monster safely and undetected.

Carefully, she backed away to carry out her strategy, her heart in her throat. The tusks on the minotaur's head were large and sharp enough to run her right through if they made contact. His hefty axe was no less intimidating - she couldn't afford to be hit. Leaning down and bracing herself, Sakura slowly picked up a bone from the ground and edged back around the corner, hiding at the end of the passage with the dead-end at her back. The minotaur wouldn't see her, she reassured herself, and would automatically take the route that led back in the direction she had come in.

She tossed the bone as far as she could. It landed with a clatter, hitting the wall. Sakura heard a sharp, inhuman intake of breath, followed by an angry snort. The ground quivered beneath her feet as the minotaur released a stomach-churning growl and charged straight ahead.

She lifted a hand and focused on her target, drawing from the cloaking orb she had equipped, ready for the moment the behemoth appeared before her. Finally he lumbered past - but to Sakura's horror, his giant head swivelled around, staring straight in her direction.

He can't see me, she told herself, watching the minotaur's nostrils flare - only for dread to explode within her. She hadn't accounted for smell. Could the monster smell mortal flesh?

Her heart skipped a beat and she wasted no further time in directing the cloaking orb's chakra at the minotaur's face. It burst forth from her palm, and a dark fog formed, swarming over the creature's eyes. The minotaur swatted at his head, clearly caught by surprise, and stumbled back, immediately blinded. Sakura rolled past him and with a gasp dashed away as fast as her legs could carry her. The outraged minotaur caught her scent as she slipped by, twisted around and proceeded to charge after her, quaking the ground itself with his movements.

Sakura pumped speed-enhancing chakra into her legs and tore through the passage, rounding one corner, and then another. Her gaze was suddenly snagged by a lever set into the wall of another dead end. Hesitating, she threw a wild glance back behind her, before rushing toward it. Yanking it down, Sakura then retraced her steps, diving around another turn just before the lumbering minotaur could catch up to her. She felt the heat of flames at her back as the creature exhaled scorching fire, and bolted breathlessly onwards, with no clear idea of where she was headed.

Her panicked eyes found a cross-roads branching out in three different directions ahead. As she rushed instinctively forward, she collided bodily into someone, and was almost sent sprawling onto her face on the floor from the force of impact.

A hand caught her arm in a firm grip and hauled her back up, steadying her on her feet. She glanced up, panting, to meet Sasuke's crimson gaze. He frowned down at her, noting the fear in her eyes.

"Sasuke!" she cried. "The minotaur is-" she broke off, for the sound of an enraged roar echoed through the air. The minotaur, who had somehow managed to shake off the cloaking orb's effects, was thundering toward them at full-speed, his axe lifted to hack the threat he could sense with his nose but could not see to pieces.

Sasuke shoved her protectively behind him and immediately struck the monster with a crackling stream of Chidori. The minotaur howled in pain, rocking unsteadily on his hoofed feet. Sasuke followed up his attack with another ruthlessly-accurate lightning stab into the creature's broad shoulder and an explosive blast of Katon, then grabbed Sakura's wrist and yanked her after him as he turned to run. Her head spun as they took countless left and right turns, following a dizzying route that seemed to pass them by in a blur. They continued to sprint with the minotaur hot on their heels, until they caught sight of Kakashi and Naruto, who had reconvened in the maze, running across another path ahead of them.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, skidding to an abrupt stop. "Where's Sakura-chan?! Did you lose her, you asshole?!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. As if. He wasn't incompetent in his duties, unlike the surface imbeciles. He removed the cloaking veil from Sakura's form, immediately allowing her to be seen by the others. Naruto's face registered relief.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Kakashi called, waving at them. "The centre of the maze is in this direction! Follow us!"

They dashed through the labyrinth, ducking and leaping and sliding to avoid the pitfalls hidden within the passages and taking down any more centaurs they found patrolling the pathways. The menacing growls of the blood-thirsty minotaur reverberated deafeningly all around them, the pounding of the monster's hooves an incessant, intimidating rumble that ever-threatened to hunt them down.

Finally they reached the heart of the maze, a square shaped chamber with a mosaic-patterned, stone floor. There was a lever located on the ground. Naruto hastily cranked it back, and the ground shook as a hidden panel on the floor slid back, revealing a circular opening.

The minotaur's enraged snorts sounded closer than ever. The opening had no stairs - was a daunting plummet into the unknown.

"Everyone, inside!" Kakashi urged, as the minotaur burst through the entrance into the chamber, eyes aflame with fury, nostrils exhaling billowing smoke. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke jumped through the opening just as the minotaur charged at them, his mighty axe drawn back to cleave them to pieces. Kakashi leapt through it last, wrenching the lever down as he jumped, sealing the entrance immediately shut behind them. The minotaur's infuriated roars quickly faded away, replaced by the sound of air whistling past them as they free-fell down into darkness.

Susano'o wrapped around Sakura's body, cocooning her in its protective shell. They finally landed on something soft that sank down beneath their feet upon impact. Sakura glanced around her, her heart racing fitfully in her chest as torches set into walls blazed to life around them, as if mysteriously triggered to illuminate at their arrival. They had fallen into a humongous, circular sand-filled chamber, with walls of sandstone and little else around them. There was no exit, no doors or visible openings - just dunes that rose and fell in a vast, desert-like landscape. The structure strongly resembled an enclosed gladiator's arena.

"What the heck?" Naruto ruffled his hair, shaking out particles of sand. "An underground desert?"

Sakura got to her feet as Susano'o ebbed away, but the ground was uneven and constantly shifted beneath her weight, making walking decidedly more difficult. Above them was the darkness they had descended from, and the air was cool and still.

"What now, sensei?" she questioned.

"Perhaps another puzzle?" Kakashi mused thoughtfully.

"I can't see anything written on the walls," Naruto squinted. "It's just sand, everywhere."

Sasuke scanned the expanse before them, his Sharingan activated. He couldn't shake the inexplicable feeling of foreboding that was starting to creep up on him. The area was quiet. Far too quiet. There didn't appear to be anything else sharing the space with them, and no perceivable way out. His eyes fell onto the layers of golden sand beneath their feet. The gears in his mind turned, trying to think of any monsters he had encountered in the battle simulator in his Kingdom, that inhabited such conditions.

Naruto was walking ahead. "There has to be something here," he frowned, scratching thoughtfully at the back of his neck. "Maybe we reached the relic already? Maybe it's buried under all this sand-?" He stopped, when he detected an odd tremor beneath his feet. "Whoa. Huh?"

The dunes beneath his feet started to sink. He scrambled backwards, spluttering in surprise, but the rate of sand drainage was faster than the speed at which he could cycle back. Kakashi grabbed him with chakra-strings, hauling him back to the rest of the team, and they watched, intrigued, as the ground continued to collapse in on itself, swirling like a sandy-whirlpool, as if it were being sucked straight into a great vortex. A thunderous roar filled the air, the likes of which Sakura had never heard before. It was bone shattering, hideous, and caused the entire air itself around them to vibrate. Beneath their feet, the sand was quivering ominously, shaking from the force of the gruesome sound.

"Wh-what is that?!" she gasped, as they all retreated to the edges of the arena, trying to avoid being dragged down toward the eye of rotation by the continuously displacing sand beneath their feet.

They spotted the teeth first. Rows upon rows of gigantic, razor-sharp spiking canines appeared, set in a circular, monstrous mouth that swallowed the sand whole, devouring it into its yawning chasm. The creature then finally broke through the surface, revealing itself in its hideous entirety.

Sakura felt her eyes grow impossibly wide as she gaped up at it in abject horror. It was enormous and fat, possessed sickly grey-white, slimy-looking skin, a gargantuan mouth lined with enormous, shredding teeth - and nothing else. No eyes. No nose. No ears. A horrendous worm-like monstrosity that appeared to be conjured straight from the realm of nightmares.

Sakura's gaze fell frantically onto her team-mates. They all looked disturbed - even Sasuke's eyes had widened in disbelief, clear, apparent disgust painted across his features.

"Gaaah! Gross! Gross!" Naruto yelled, pointing hysterically at it. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"I- I think I'm going to be sick!" Sakura covered her mouth, as the stench of it filled the air, putrid and nauseating. The smell of certain doom and decay.

Sasuke blinked up at the monster, appalled by its unsightliness. He had never before encountered its likeness, and glanced at Kakashi, waiting for his input.

"A carnivorous skōlex worm!" Kakashi sounded alarmed, which caused terror to explode within Sakura. If even their characteristically laid-back teacher was worried, then that didn't bode well for them. "Damn it! This creature is dangerous, and we're on its turf!"

The worm continued to rise up from the ground, towering in its height, its all-encompassing shadow falling intimidatingly over them. Then, with a terrifying, inhuman roar, a grotesque sound that froze the very blood in Sakura's veins, it reared its ugly head back and spewed liquid hot sand, like scalding lava, all over them.

They dove aside, but the worm's enormous head whipped left and right, continuing to rain sand everywhere. The golden particles beneath their feet continued to shift precariously, gravitating toward the point where they swirled around the base of the worm's thick, muscular body, forming a gigantic pit of endlessly sinking sand. Sakura realised, with great disgust, that the monster's body likely went on for much longer than what they could see was looming over them. There was no way of telling how much of its lower half continued on beneath the sand.

"Fire is its weakness!" Kakashi informed them. "We need to take it down quickly! Before we're buried under sand!"

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Teme, hit it, hit it!"

Sasuke was one step ahead and had already formed the seals required to summon his elemental attack. A humongous blast of Katon slammed into the creature, and it released a nightmarish sound of pain as it was engulfed in flame. The acrid, burning smell of flesh sizzling filled the air and Sakura fought the urge to retch. She lifted her arm and assisted Sasuke in directing fire-based attacks at the monster, drawing from the chakra-crystal equipped on her arm.

"Aim for its head!" Kakashi yelled as the skōlex writhed in agony, infuriated. It then reared back and shot out with alarming, unexpected speed given its considerable girth, slamming itself down into the sand and burying itself under to put out the flames. The ground quaked beneath their feet as the hideous worm surfaced once more, sending mighty clumps of sand flying into the air.

Sakura cried out as the powerful momentum of upturned sand sent her toppling off balance. She rolled uncontrollably, hot particles showering all over her, unable to grab onto anything to stop herself from tumbling down the slanting dunes. She could feel herself being dragged toward the epicentre, toward the whirlpool of sand that was being sucked down into the horrifying unknown.

"Sasuke!" she screamed his name instinctively in terror, as the worm's gaping mouth turned straight toward her. Her heart pounded as the unsettling, horrific sensation of being seen by something without eyes washed over her. Sure enough, it reared its head back, ready to devour her into a black chasm of death.

Sasuke, who had also been flung violently backwards from the force of the skōlex's surfacing movements, sat up to find Sakura sinking toward the centre of the pit. His eyes widened in horror and he scrambled up and flickered instantly toward her, diving down into the sand without a second's hesitation to frantically grab at her wrist. There was nothing to hold onto, no solid surface to dig his feet into to stop them from both being dragged into the sinking deep. His crimson eyes met her fear-glazed emerald orbs and he clenched his teeth in determination. Gripping her wrist firmly, he aimed another sphere of Katon at the monster, and then warped himself and Sakura backwards, further up the dunes. His back hit the curving stone wall with Sakura's upper torso draped across his lap, as she coughed and sputtered up sand. He gripped her upper arms tightly, trying to catch his breath as he coughed up the mouthful of sand that he'd inadvertently swallowed while diving to reach her.

Naruto hurtled a sphere of Rasengan at the worm. It sent a tornado of sand spinning into the air.

"You idiot!" Sasuke shouted over its roars, as a panting Sakura finally sat up, turning wide eyes back up to the worm. "Don't use wind!" Couldn't the fool see that it was exacerbating the rate at which sand was clogging up their field of vision?

"Sorry, sorry! I panicked! That slimy thing is freaking me out, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, frustrated that he didn't have the full force of his fire elemental abilities at his disposal.

Kakashi struck it with Chidori bolts, which sliced open the worm's slimy flesh. A sickly black liquid oozed from the wounds, bubbling thickly. The worm released another roar and once again the ground quivered beneath them. Then, to their astonishment, smaller worms surfaced, lashing out toward them, identical in appearance to the parent that had summoned them, only thinner.

"It has babies?!" Naruto squawked in disbelief.

"Take them out!" Kakashi yelled over the deafening din.

Spinning funnels formed, howling violently as they moved across the dunes like raging sand-storms. Sakura gasped as she and Sasuke were forced apart by one of the twisting tornadoes. The entire arena looked like a scene of utter ruin and chaotic destruction. Sand rained everywhere, obscuring their vision, the grains were ever sinking beneath their feet and they now had not only one ginormous worm to contend with, but countless smaller ones, just as eager to taste fresh blood.

Sakura frantically directed attack after attack, setting the smaller worms on fire. She spotted Kakashi and Naruto cutting them down with their blades. One of the worms whistled past her, and she ducked, rolling down a dune to avoid it before hacking at it with her sword. She managed to slice it down, but another resurfaced in its place.

"Gwah!" Naruto cried out, as a smaller worm wrapped its cold, sticky body around his feet and tossed him up into the air. Kakashi leapt up to grab him, and they both fell roughly back onto the sand.

Fire exploded into the air as Sasuke directed a blazing blast of flame that encompassed the centre of the arena, taking out multiple smaller worms, charring them to pieces. The mother skōlex released a spine-chilling wail of agony and summoned further tornadoes of sand. The air was full of dust and sand particles, reducing visibility greatly. Sakura glanced around in panic, trying to locate her team-mates, but the falling sand was burning her eyes and she couldn't breathe anymore without coughing violently.

She then felt the ground dislodge beneath her feet and before she could react, something cold and slimy wrapped around her calf and she was yanked down with unstoppable force. Sand cascaded over her body and she was buried in it, unable to breathe even as she struggled to push it away from her face. It fell over her like a terrible dead-weight, and she felt herself being burrowed deeper and deeper, unable to see, unable to breathe, unable to scream-

Something cool and solid wrapped around her body and she was torn out from beneath the sandy grave, elevated into the air by a glowing, skeletal hand. Sasuke had summoned his full-form Susano'o and taken to the skies.

Sakura! His voice in her dazed mind was laced with an edge of concern. In his chest, his heart was racing, having witnessed how dangerously close she had come to being suffocated and entombed under the sand by the unseen off-shoot worm that had surfaced beneath her feet and dragged her under.

Sakura gasped for air, her lungs rasping, her mouth full of dirt. She coughed and spat it out, trying to calm her thundering heart-beat. Sasuke's eyes then turned to where Naruto and Kakashi were trying to take out the remaining off-shoots. It was no use, he realised grimly. The sand was the skōlex's territory, its element, its natural habitat, and so long as they remained on it, they had no hope of winning the battle. The mother worm would continue to summon more of its progeny, and would send more and more sandstorms into the air in a bid to cloak any remaining visibility they had. They couldn't remain on the ground any further.

The skōlex was clearly wounded and weeping blood, but continued to smash its body into the sand, rolling in it and burrowing itself deeply beneath the grains to heal before it leapt back up to the surface, sending masses of particles flying each time it did.

Sasuke's thoughts cycled at lightning speed. There was only one way to kill it and all its minions, he quickly realised, and he needed to get everyone off the ground for the attack to work. Even Naruto and Kakashi.

Sakura, who had recovered, pointed down at her teacher and friend. They had just leapt out of the way as the skōlex resurfaced once more but were clearly struggling with the endlessly cascading sand that was threatening to bury them. The worm once again drew back before diving mouth first into the sound toward them, seeking to swallow them whole. They scattered again, were sent tumbling uncontrollably with nothing to break their fall as the worm dove under the sand again, displacing massive amounts of it with its powerful movements.

"Sasuke!" she screamed in terror, her voice hoarse with panic. "Please help them! Please!"

Sasuke blinked. A moment later they were both scooped up by Susano'o's other enormous hand. Naruto gripped tightly onto it, wheezing for breath, relieved that they had been carried out of the fray.

"Thank you!" Sakura gasped, shaking with relief.

"We owe you one, Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted gratefully.

"Y-yeah!" Naruto gulped in agreement. "This ugly thing is outta control!"

Susano'o deflected the giant worm's enraged attempt to smash into them. The force of the impact jarred the impenetrable shield, but it held firm, sustained by Sasuke's precise chakra control. Instead the worm's head struck the wall beside them in rebound, and caused huge clumps of stone to break off, falling to the dunes below. Sakura gaped down at the ghastly sight below. There was no way they could have remained on the sand and survived being buried under it. Its level was rising rapidly, and the entire space had turned to utter carnage.

The death deity fluidly steered Susano'o to avoid the howling typhoons of sand that were rushing up to meet them, evaded the skōlex's repeated attempts to suck them down its humongous mouth. Sakura's heart wedged in her throat when Susano'o suddenly dove low, flying through the falling sand. She raised her hand and tried to attack any of the smaller worms she could with bursts of fire. She clipped a few, and watched, helplessly, as they were replaced by others.

Nothing seemed to be working. They kept regenerating. What did they do? What could they do? There was no way out.

Sasuke closed his eyes, focusing intently - and then opened them, directing the devastating attack at its target.

"Amaterasu," he murmured, summoning the sacred fire of his clan.

Black flames immediately exploded to life onto the skōlex's head. As Susano'o manoeuvred around it, Sasuke's Sharingan drew a path along its body, manipulating and directing the inextinguishable fire to follow the movement of his eyes. The worm released a spine-chilling roar of anguish, writhed and slammed itself into the sand in a desperate attempt to put out the searing flames. But they could not be extinguished. Only Sasuke had the power to diminish them.

"Alright! Yes!" Naruto punched the air in triumph. "Kick its ugly ass, Sasuke!"

The death deity's eyes moved ruthlessly to the smaller worms. One by one he set them alight, and an awed Team Seven watched them shrivel and wither away into nothing but sand particles. The entire landscape was now burning with lapping, crackling black flames that consumed the sand itself, causing it to evaporate into the air. The skōlex continued to thrash around in agony, burrowing itself deeply before pain forced it to surface again. But nothing it did would douse the black fire of Amaterasu.

Sasuke felt his eyes burn with effort. Both Susano'o and Amaterasu drained chakra rapidly and he could feel both techniques greedily consuming his reserves. He continued to pump chakra into his Sharingan to maintain both, hitting the skōlex in three more areas with the black fire, commanding it to spread out of control. The screaming worm smashed unseeingly into the walls, blood spattering against stone, breaking off large chunks that slammed into the sand below, sending dust and particles flying everywhere.

Sakura pressed a palm to her mouth in horror as she watched the worm's face melt off, followed by large portions of the rest of its body. It took a long time, even with the deadly fires raging across it, for it to succumb to its grievous injuries. The spinning sand-storms dissipated, and the smaller worms all vanished. No others resurfaced. The skōlex released one more earth shattering scream of pain, before it grew stiff and collapsed onto the sand, defeated and dead.

Sasuke's chest heaved with exertion. Before their disbelieving eyes, the remainder of the sand completely melted away beneath them, revealing a spacious stone floor. There was a wooden, arched door set in the circular wall, which had been hidden beneath the layers of sand before. Sasuke alighted onto the ground, and lowered them all beside him, immediately retracting Susano'o and his Sharingan.

Sakura immediately grabbed water and washed her mouth out, before gulping it thirstily down, her throat and lips parched for the delicious taste of the hydrating liquid. She tried to calm herself down following what had been an intensely stressful and horrifying battle.

"That was a close call. Let's hope we don't encounter anything else," Kakashi muttered, as Naruto and Sakura sipped on their ambrosia supplies, replenishing their energy levels.

Sasuke crouched down on the balls of his feet, taking a moment to catch his breath - only to tense when he felt a gentle hand touch his right shoulder gingerly.

"Sasuke…? Are you okay?"

He blinked in surprise at the sincere concern he detected in Sakura's voice, but did not respond.

"Do you need some chakra?" Naruto offered readily. "I could lend you some if you want-" he reached out for Sasuke's other shoulder - only for the death god to rise and roughly deflect his hand away.

"Don't touch me," he uttered icily - a stark contrast to the touch he had permitted from Sakura. Kakashi silently observed this with interest.

Naruto glowered and pointed at him, visibly peeved. "The hell is your problem?! I'm just trying to help you, you asshole!"

"I don't need your help," Sasuke responded back cuttingly.

"Stop trying to act so damn cool all the time! Those techniques must have drained a lot of chakra from you, and you've got the damned curse seal!" Naruto argued. "Don't act like you're invincible, damn it!"

"Sasuke," Kakashi interceded carefully. "Naruto is merely concerned. If you require any chakra at any point, we can assist."

Sasuke released a derisive snort that seemed to communicate: Chakra? Seriously? From you guys?

"What's that meant to mean?" Naruto demanded indignantly. "Teme! Just because you killed that slimy ugly thing, doesn't make you better than any of us!"

"It makes me stronger," Sasuke's dark eyes flashed with hostility, daring the sun deity to defy him.

"You just wait until my powers are unsealed," Naruto shook his fists threateningly at him. "I'll kick your ass to the sun, bastard!"

"As if." Sasuke sneered.

Sakura quickly stepped between them, holding up her hands.

"Thank you for saving us, Sasuke," she scowled at Naruto, silently entreating him to stand down. "We're very grateful."

"Pfft," Naruto folded his arms, disgruntled. "Whatever. Yeah. I guess he helped." Under his breath, he muttered. "Dick."

He glared at Sasuke, who promptly went back to ignoring him as Sakura bent to retrieve the sword she had lost in the fray. Luckily it was none the worse for wear, and she slipped it back inside its jeweled scabbard.

"There's no way we would have defeated the skōlex without you," Kakashi agreed, trying to smooth over the tension. "Nicely done."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He didn't want their gratitude or praise. He had expended a great deal of chakra by using Susano'o and Amaterasu, but felt he still had enough reserves left to manage - provided they didn't run into another dangerous creature like the skōlex again.

They made their way over to the door. When it wouldn't open, Naruto blasted it off its hinge with a spinning Rasengan. It blew aside and led them into a narrow passage with a set of steps that climbed downwards. At the end, they came to an immovable stone wall bearing four circular crests.

"This must be it," Naruto breathed, his eyes lighting with anticipation.

They pressed their palms to each elemental crest and sure enough, the seals glowed, causing the wall to rumble aside. They walked through the opening, to find a space that was identical to the circular area within which they had retrieved the first relic. Waterfalls cascaded down the walls, and arched columns encircled the platform they stood upon. Ahead of them were a set of steps which climbed up to a raised, spacious square dais, bearing four unlit torches in its corners.

Sakura exhaled in relief at the safe space, rubbing absently at the mild discomfort she felt in her chest. At least they didn't need to worry about fighting anything else.

They crouched down to activate the runes on the raised platform and the unlit torches in their iron-carved stands blazed into glorious life, burning golden flame. They watched as a smaller platform appeared before them. As Sakura placed her sword in the slot in the same manner she had at the first relic site, a golden sphere materialised and floated before them.

"That looks like the memory orbs I saw in the Underworld," she commented.

"That's precisely what it is," Kakashi confirmed. "Minato did mention that he left them behind for us. Let's see what this one shows." He stepped forward to touch it with an index finger.

No sooner had he done so, it pulsed and rippled and expanded outward, golden light surrounding the entire expanse of the platform they stood upon. Sakura's eyes widened as images began to form around them, depicting what she assumed were memories taken directly from Zeus' mind himself. They played out like soundless movie reels, so vivid that it almost felt, to Team Seven, as though they were standing amidst the scenes themselves.

They watched as the first memory unfolded. Zeus and Hera were standing at the entrance to their resplendent palace, a young Apollo by their side. Sakura's breath stilled. Was that Naruto's mother? The flame-haired woman she had glimpsed in a memory orb in Sasuke's Kingdom was a stunning beauty to behold, adorned in a gold-stitched white gown, standing proudly and fiercely by her handsome, regal husband's side. They were welcoming a group to Olympus, a party cloaked in dark shades of black, midnight blue and grey. The Uchiha, Sakura recognised them from their colourings. At the front of them was Cronus, who looked down at little Apollo, blinked and then smiled. It didn't appear to be genuine. Apollo shrank back fearfully behind his mother.

"Ma…" Naruto whispered, feeling pain stab deeply through his heart as he stepped forward, following the image's progression intently with his eyes. A yearning seized him, as the full extent of just how much he missed his mother overwhelmed him, causing his eyes to sting with tears. Before he could reach out to touch his mother's apparition, the scene rippled and dispersed, replaced by a new one.

Zeus was standing on a balcony, overlooking the palace gardens. Hidden from sight, he watched below, as three young deities enjoyed each others' company. His son, Kore, and Hades, who clearly believed they were conversing in private, undetected by any prying gazes. He observed as Kore leaned around one of the hedges to whisper to them, prompting open laughter from Apollo and an amused smirk from Hades. They then seemed to hear a sound which caused a startled Kore to dart back behind the concealing, well-tended hedges, leading into another section of the gardens. Apollo tried to grab Hades into a headlock, only to be flipped onto his back on the ground. The young deities continued to scuffle lightheartedly, until a masked Hephaestus soon came across them and pried them apart.

A small, fond smile curved itself on Zeus's lips - before it turned into a concerned, regretful, troubled look.

Sakura swallowed, and glanced across at Sasuke. They'd just seen evidence, once again, that he had known her past self - and that he'd been friends with Naruto. She could tell from the tension she perceived in his jaw that the vision disturbed him. He did not meet her gaze when it lingered. She then looked across at Naruto, who shot Sasuke a desperately unhappy glare. As if to ask why he couldn't remember those days they had shared. Once more, she felt terrible for him.

Turning her eyes back to the memories playing out around them, her pulse quickened with anticipation, eager to see and learn more. She hoped whatever Zeus had left behind was significant enough to shed light on many of their unanswered questions.

The scene had once again changed. This time a regally robed Zeus stood with Cronus, in a resplendent room surrounded by majestic white, fluted columns. They were around a circular, marble table bearing what appeared to be a floating sphere of jewel blue and vivid green, a depiction of the globe of the world itself, and seemed to be locked in some form of heated discussion. Zeus held up his hands, in a placating gesture that clearly conveyed he did not wish for conflict. Cronus, however, slammed a palm on the table, shaking the hovering globe itself with the force of his strike. His eyes flashed crimson, burning with angry fire. The image then dissolved away, giving way to another.

Sakura sucked in a breath as she saw herself as she had been in goddesshood, and was struck by the clarity of the vision, by the softly curling ringlets in her flower-adorned blossom hair and the white peplum dress arranged elegantly around her petite form. Kore was sweet-featured and lovely, her doe-like eyes full of curiosity and wonder. Looking upon remnants from an ancient past long gone was surreal, and filled Sakura with a strangely displaced sensation. That was her, standing with the King of all the Gods. And yet she couldn't remember it. Once more, her hand rubbed over her chest distractedly, trying to ease the stitch that seemed to have lodged itself there.

A smiling Zeus stood before her in a beautiful garden and placed a hand atop her head, ruffling her hair affectionately. Hera then joined them, admonishing her husband for disarranging her tresses, and began to fuss over tidying Kore's pretty hair, as she shared laughter with the young goddess.

The pleasant memory blurred away to reveal Zeus standing with the Council of surface deities, around a square-shaped table. They were talking, and the surface deities looked angry. In front of them was Demeter, who appeared hysterical. She was gesturing wildly into the air, her eyes red-rimmed from shedding tears. Sakura's own widened. Had that been when she'd been kidnapped to the Underworld? Why else would her mother look so distraught? Behind her, a tearful Aphrodite and Hestia looked anxious, too.

Zeus's golden head bowed, and his hands, atop the table curled into tight fists. He looked regretful. Stressed. Resigned, his posture akin to someone who had lost a fight, been overruled by pressure - or perhaps had run out of time stalling.

The next scene showed them a magnificent festival in a humongous field. Zeus and Hera sat upon their thrones, entertaining a huge crowd. Nymphs and all manner of creatures were also in peaceful attendance. Upon another raised stage, sat the Uchiha. Cronus was amongst them, but his face and that of his clan's were not filled with mirth as everyone else present. Cronus watched on coldly, a haughty sneer dancing upon his lips, as if he found the entire affair to be burdensome and boring. Beside him sat who Sakura recognised were Sasuke's parents from previous visions she had been shown. They were conversing quietly amongst themselves, and next to them, were Hades and two identically masked young men. Hypnos and Thanatos. Cronus suddenly tossed his goblet to the ground and rose from his seat, arrogantly and rudely taking his leave from the celebrations without a word, uttering short words to his kin as he parted. The remainder of his family remained politely behind.

Upon their dais, Zeus and his wife exchanged concerned, silent glances, but celebrations continued on.

The image rippled away, and Team Seven found themselves observing as Zeus and a company of guards and deities burst into a meeting room, their eyes immediately coming to find a tall, masked, long-haired deity who held a blade up against the High Councillor Pallas' throat, standing before another taller deity with unruly wavy hair. He was wounded; dark scarlet blood was pouring from his right eye-socket. Around the room, other guards were on their knees, as if struggling to move and breathe.

Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening in recognition and disbelief as he watched the unexpected scene unfold.

"Hey," Naruto exhaled, stunned and confused by the sight before them. "Isn't that-?" He glanced at Sasuke, unsure, not wanting to say the names out loud for fear of the reaction they would elicit.

Sakura bit her lower lip anxiously. There was no mistaking it. The long-haired one was Sasuke's older brother. She recognised him from the visions he had shown her - as well as the family portrait she'd seen in the shrine room in his palace long ago, that she had almost set fire to and destroyed. Thanatos's arresting form was unmistakable.

Kakashi's lone eye narrowed. Hypnos was bleeding from the eye-socket, though his Sharingan was still intact. Had Danzo tried to steal his eye? Why would he think to do such a thing? Such an ill-thought act was equivalent to declaring war upon the Uchiha and enough to warrant bloodshed in itself, and yet - Thanatos had not slain him.

"Isn't that… Danzo?" Sakura scarcely dared to utter.

"Yes," Kakashi affirmed. "I wonder what the meaning of this is?"

A searing jolt of pain stabbed through Sasuke's heart. Those were his very own brother and cousin! Why was his brother holding a sword to an elder surface deity's neck? He recognised the god to be the same Danzo who had interrogated him at the trial. A High Council member.

Why was Shisui's eye bleeding? Rage erupted within him, stealing the air in his lungs. Had Danzo and Olympus tried to take his cousin's prized Sharingan for themselves? There seemed to be no other plausible explanation. What else would compel his mild-mannered older brother, who had always had such an aversion to conflict and violence, to take up arms so threateningly against a surface god? Itachi never provoked or initiated battles, but was known to swiftly end them. Without the presence of Cronus or any other of their kin, what reason had they to be there at all? What business did they have on Olympus? Why were Itachi and Shisui there alone?

The death deity's eyebrows furrowed together, watching in bewildered confusion, as Thanatos tensed, his head immediately turning to meet Zeus's incredulous gaze. Pallas said something, and then the guards behind Zeus were immediately rushing forward. In a heart-beat Thanatos had withdrawn his sword from Pallas's throat and leapt toward Hypnos. They both vanished in a flurry of black feathers. Pallas continued to rant on, and the surface deities surrounded Zeus, talking at him all at once. Sakura saw her mother, her features furious. The only deity to remain silent was Hera, who looked at her husband with troubled eyes - a look that was mirrored on the King of Olympus' face. He shook his head slightly, as if he could not believe what he had just witnessed.

The image faded and a conflicted Sasuke stepped forward, thoroughly frustrated, feeling once again as though everything he had known had been rocked off centre. No! It couldn't end there. He needed to know why they had been there at all! The golden light around them gleamed and pulsed, before revealing another memory. Zeus stood at the top of a set of marble steps, and they saw the backs of two deities, cloaked in black, approaching him. One had long dark hair. The other, wavy, messy locks. They reached the top of the staircase and stopped before Zeus.

Sasuke watched, in muted shock, as Zeus smiled and lifted a hand to Hypnos and Thanatos's shoulders, squeezing them in affectionate greeting as one would his friends. As one would an ally.

"Eh? What the heck…?" Naruto mumbled beneath his breath. "What's going on?"

Kakashi looked on, surprised. He had not known that Zeus had met with Hypnos and Thanatos alone. He had only ever spied the two in the company of their clan and Cronus. What was the meaning of it?

Sakura's eyes shifted to Sasuke, equally as puzzled. Had his brother and cousin been working with Olympus? Or had Cronus sent them there as spies? If they were on Zeus's side, why had they raised a sword to Danzo's neck? Her mind was spinning from the revelations, and their multiple implications. She couldn't even begin to imagine the turmoil Sasuke had to be experiencing.

The next image showed Zeus seated with the High Council. He listened to them in silence, as they talked on at him, holding up scrolls and gesturing. Pallas looked the angriest, open disapproval evident on his face as he pushed a scroll toward the King of the Gods, clearly demanding he sign it. Zeus regarded him wordlessly, and then rose to his feet abruptly, slamming his hands down on the table, a fire in his gaze that startled and immediately silenced the others. He said something, his amiable expression all at once formidable and dangerous. Then he left the room thunderously, without speaking another word.

The memory dissolved and merged into another. This time, Zeus stood with Hera in Olympus, surrounded by a set of guards in shining golden armour. Before them was Cronus, and flanking his side were Hypnos and Thanatos. Sasuke watched, riveted by the sight, barely daring to draw a breath, as Cronus arrogantly taunted Zeus, lifting his hands up as if to goad the King of Olympus to attack him in a self-assured display of power. But Zeus hung back, and shook his head, openly rejecting the bait. Cronus stepped forward. The guards immediately rallied protectively around their King, but were instantly brought to their knees by an awful, unseen, debilitating power.

Cronus smirked, and lifted a hand to clap Thanatos's left shoulder. The masked deity remained stoic and aloof, his crippling hold on the guards absolute. Cronus exchanged more smug words with Zeus, whose eyes darted from Hypnos to Thanatos in thinly-veiled alarm. Hera lifted a hand, speaking beseeching words to Cronus but they clearly fell upon unhearing ears, for the Uchiha patriarch's eyes narrowed and he nodded curtly at Thanatos, who stepped forward and grabbed the nearest soldier on his knees ruthlessly by the helmet, yanking his head back to expose his vulnerable throat. In a movement almost too swift for the eye to follow, Thanatos drew a dagger from his belt and before Zeus or Hera had time to react, slit the soldier's throat mercilessly at Cronus's command, before releasing him and allowing him to bleed out all over the white-marbled floor. He did not so much as even blink as he callously slaughtered the guard in cold-blood.

Cronus smiled darkly, as if to say: See my power. See what I command at my fingertips.

The tension in Zeus's jaw was palpable as his azure eyes fell onto the guard. His hands closed into fists as Hera gripped his arm. He did not retaliate.

"That son of a bitch!" Naruto snarled, his fists shaking with anger.

As the memory blurred away, Sasuke silently exhaled, his heart pounding so hard within his chest that he felt its thundering pulse resounding in his ears. He didn't understand. Hadn't he just seen them on good terms with Zeus? Had they been his allies or had they been loyal to Cronus? He didn't know what to think.

The scene shifted again. This time Zeus was alone in what appeared to be his private quarters. The sky was dark beyond the arched pillars of his residence. Two figures alighted at the balcony, and he turned and strode hurriedly forward to meet them. Gripping their shoulders in greeting once again, he regarded them grimly and then produced two identical kunai, marked with mystical inscriptions around their handles.

The death deity stepped forward, his heart constricting tightly within his chest as Itachi's head turned slightly, and for a fraction of a moment, to Sasuke, the vision felt so vividly real, like his brother and cousin were right there before him; he needed only to reach out and touch them. He swallowed thickly, fighting the senseless, itching, near-overwhelming urge to lift his arm, knowing his fingers would pass through nothing but light. He watched, instead, with wide eyes as Zeus shared precious weapons bearing seals that belonged to his renowned Hiraishin technique - a lightning fast ability that would allow a wielder of the kunai to warp to any location that bore a similar mark in the blink of an eye, undetected to those around them.

"What are those?" Sakura asked in a hushed whisper.

"My dad's marked kunai. He could warp to any spot he marked with that seal in seconds," Naruto responded.

There was no way Zeus would share such precious, important resources with an enemy. The Hiraishin seal was one of Olympus' most heavily guarded secrets. Only Zeus knew the formation of the Flying Thunder God seal and it could only be replicated by those he personally taught it to. Chaos exploded in Sasuke's mind, sending his thoughts into a tumultuous spiral. The implications of what he was seeing were all too painfully clear, though he didn't want to accept them as true, wishing that he could outwardly reject them. Zeus had clearly and implicitly trusted Hypnos and Thanatos. They had been working with him, against Cronus, against the clan. It was either that - or they were deceiving Zeus. Which was it?

Why? Why? Had they known of Cronus's plans all along? Were they the ones who had informed Zeus? Sasuke was overcome by what his eyes were showing him. If his brother and cousin had known the truth, then why hadn't they acted to try to prevent the massacre from occurring? Why had his brother killed their parents? Why would they both side with the Olympians and wield weapons that had the ability to damage their own kin? Why hadn't they acted against Cronus alone, and attempted to save the rest of the clan?

There is no hope left for this wretched clan. Itachi's words, spoken to him so long ago, reverberated deafeningly in Sasuke's mind and suddenly, he was certain. Itachi had known that everyone in the clan would die. And so had Shisui.

Why, then, had he been spared?

He recalled his mother's tear-stained note, apologising profusely to him, begging him to survive. She had known, too. So had his father. Sasuke felt incensed. Betrayed. He had been lied to; everything he had believed in had been a farce. He had known nothing about the war, had been selfishly kept in the dark, oblivious to all the great secrets his clan had harboured and then compelled to ascend a throne he'd been ill-prepared to inherit. Kept in ignorance while the rest of his immediate family had known the awful truth and chosen not to tell him. Why? Why would they act in such a way? It tore him to shreds, not knowing, having no way of asking. The truth hurt even more, and he wished that he had not seen the memory spheres at all. It was as though the very ground beneath his feet had vanished and he was falling into the oblivion of chaos once again.

Suddenly, he was dragged back to the moment when he had woken up alone in the Underworld following the war. That same hopeless state of miserable vulnerability. That same lack of knowing, thrown by new knowledge he'd had no preparation in acquiring. He hated it. His blood simmered; how was it conceivable that it had escaped him entirely, that his own brother, his own flesh and blood, and his own cousin, had met in secret with Zeus? Seemingly acted as some sort of double-agents in the war? And double-agents on whose side? Had they pretended to be on Cronus's but served Zeus? Or had they played Zeus, and remained loyal to the true King of their realm in the end?

What in Tartarus had happened on Olympus's summit on the day of the war? Just how had his brother and cousin perished? Had they done so protecting Cronus or had they done so assisting Zeus? How much involvement had they had in the war's outcome? Had Cronus ever discovered them double-crossing him? Had Zeus? The thoughts were dizzying as they ricocheted inside Sasuke's skull, question after maddening question with answers in sight.

The memory orbs in the fountain in his Kingdom possessed anomalies, were capable of being warped and distorted. But there was no way - Sasuke was absolutely certain - that the scenes he was gazing upon were fabricated. That was his own brother. He knew it from the proud way Itachi stood, so quietly confident, so graceful in his elegance, so very effortlessly poised. That was Shisui, ever protective and alert and easy in his languid grace, who stood beside him, his eyes moving to the balcony as if he was wary of them being discovered in Zeus's private chambers.

Sakura pressed a palm to her mouth, her eyes turning anxiously to Sasuke. The death god had frozen in place, his expression stunned. Disbelief was etched all over his features, and yet there was a blazing fury in his eyes. He hadn't known any of this, she realised, her stomach twisting into unpleasant knots. He'd had no idea that his own brother and cousin had sided with Zeus - and glancing at the shock that was evident on Naruto and Kakashi's frowning expressions, too, neither had anyone else.

Hypnos spoke some words. Zeus appeared deeply saddened as he listened, his bright blue eyes downcast. Thanatos then said something, and Zeus finally nodded slowly, as if in reluctant agreement. He then held out a slip of paper, bearing another Hiraishin mark inscription. Thanatos's ring-adorned fingers took it from his hand.

The visions faded away, and the glowing golden light diminished, plunging the room back into warm firelight.

Sasuke stood stunned, feeling bereft and cheated. How could it end so cruelly there?

The second relic floated before them, released from its holding and ready for collection. Silence roared in the space, broken only by the crackling of the lit torches and the softly cascading waterfalls. A glum-looking Naruto, whose eyes were fixed in concern on Sasuke, opened his mouth to address him, but Kakashi gripped his shoulder and shook his head. Sasuke had just seen evidence that his own kin had potentially been aligned with Olympus. He needed time to process that.

The masked-deity retrieved the stone stele and once again lifted his eye-patch to copy the markings upon it. Then, carefully putting it away, he said, "Well. Two down. Two to go."

Sakura swallowed thickly. The tension lining Sasuke's shoulders was palpable. She couldn't imagine what he had to be feeling or thinking. A terrible heaviness, an uncomfortable aching lodged itself deep in her chest. She had a strange urge to speak to him, but didn't know what she could possibly say.

Did the revelations make him hate the surface gods more? What was he thinking?

"Sasuke," Kakashi began carefully. "I know these words will be little consolation to you but... we truly had no idea about any of this, either. Zeus never informed us about any meetings with any of your kin. We weren't aware of Danzo's actions, either. That's the truth of it."

Sakura watched as Sasuke's hands closed into fists. He had to be angry. Such secrets had been kept from his knowledge - but at least he had seen, with his own eyes, that Cronus had been the antagonist of the war, and that Zeus had never retaliated until forced to do so. It was all too evident who the orchestrator of the terrible tragedy on both sides truly was - just as Minato had informed them.

Another circle of golden light appeared behind them, ready to bear them back to the surface. As Naruto and Sakura walked down the stairs toward it, Sakura paused, glancing back over her shoulder at Sasuke, who had not moved since the rippling memory sphere had dispersed.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called him quietly. "We have to leave."

After a few more seconds, the death deity finally turned and re-joined them, his face devoid of any visible emotion, a perfectly blank mask that hid away the turmoil raging within him. When he returned to the Underworld, he vowed, he would visit Chiyo and leave nothing unanswered. He would know the truth about Itachi and Shisui, once and for all. The enigmatic brother who had pleaded for the old goddess to protect Sasuke, who had killed his own parents and worked as a double-agent, who had seemingly betrayed his own family - or Olympus. There was no way of knowing, or concluding, which side he had truly been on. Perhaps the only person who had truly known had been Shisui, who had died with him.

They stepped into the warm, rotating circle of light, allowing it to whisk them back above ground.

---

When the funnel of light faded, they found themselves back in the Demon Desert. The sun had already set in the sky and the opening in the sand had vanished, replaced by a thick layer of dunes. Kakashi led the long trek back toward the fence they had entered through in silence. Everyone, Sakura assumed, was lost deep in thought following the revelations of the memory sphere. To think that members of Sasuke's own family had seemingly sought to avert the war and march against Cronus - how did that sit with Sasuke? Had they gone through with aiding Zeus? Or had they sided with Cronus at the very end? It was difficult to tell, since the sphere had shown Thanatos both aiding the patriarch by brutally murdering an Olympian guard, as well as accepting weapons from Zeus.

She snuck a glance back at Sasuke, who was walking two steps behind her in what had become his default position within their team's formation. Close enough to get to Sakura in a heart-beat, and just far enough to observe any danger clearly from the back. His eyes were lowered, his expression sullen, but the slight furrow of his brow betrayed the storm of emotions she knew had to be brewing within him.

She rubbed a palm again over her chest, frowning when the strange knot wouldn't loosen. Had she pulled a muscle without realising it? The battle with the worm had been physically taxing, but she had taken a sip of ambrosia afterwards, hadn't she? Why had the discomfort not waned?

As she trudged through the sand, a sudden coldness began to creep upon her. Her skin began to crawl as an odd sensation washed over her. A high-pitched whine filled her head and Sakura released a quiet gasp, as the pain in her chest intensified, momentarily stealing away her ability to breathe. She halted abruptly in alarm, blinking, not realising that her vision had started to blur.

Sasuke's head rose distractedly, noting that Sakura had stopped suddenly. He watched her sway unsteadily on her feet, and frowned lightly. But she seemed to recover, for she continued onward, albeit at a slower, more careful pace. Dismissing it as a misstep on her part, his gaze lowered once again to his feet in troubled thought.

When Kakashi felt a slight vibration beneath his feet, he initially thought little of it, not slowing in his pace as he led his team across the sloping sand dunes. They had left their camels by the entrance. It had been approximately four hours that they had spent underground, and he wondered if they animals had made their own way back to the Hidden Sand village.

"Kakashi-sensei? Did some Uchiha really side with my dad?" Naruto asked finally, breaking the stifling stillness that had fallen over their cell. "How come none of us knew?"

Sasuke tensed at the mere reference to Itachi and Shisui, and glared bitterly at the back of the loud-mouthed blond's head.

"It's likely only Minato knew," Kakashi mused. "I wager for the exact reason of keeping it unknown. I only met those two a few times - and they seemed calm in nature, not disposed to violence of any sort. Who knows what truly happened? Maybe we'll discover more in the next site."

Naruto shot a disgruntled look at the death deity. "Do you believe my dad now, Sasuke?" he demanded.

Sasuke did not respond.

"Naruto," Kakashi cautioned quietly.

"Are you just gonna ignore my question?" Naruto pressed, disregarding his teacher's warning. "Don't want to admit that we've been right all along? Huh?" At his continued silence, Naruto hounded, "Oi, Sasuke! I'm talking to you!"

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped.

"Like hell I will! That was the truth and you know it! We've been on the same side all along! You saw it with your own eyes, that even your own brother and cous-"

"I said, shut up," Sasuke snarled more vehemently.

Kakashi halted and turned back toward them, exasperated at Naruto's absence of tact, ready to censure the sun god for his lack of sensitivity. But another tremor caused the grains of sand before Kakashi's eyes to quiver and gave him pause.

"Stop!" He held up a hand, signalling for his charges to cease their bickering. Listening intently, his gaze fell to the ground, immediately on high alert.

"Sensei…" Sakura spoke weakly behind him. "I… I don't feel so good..."

Naruto's head turned in confusion, immediately forgetting his quarrel with Sasuke. "Sakura-chan…?" he began questiongly. "What's wrong?"

She blinked, her gaze unfocused, and teetered precariously to the side.

Sasuke automatically darted forward to catch her, his eyes widening in alarm when he found that she was quickly hyperventilating, her hands clutched to her chest in anguish. Her heart rhythm was frenzied and irregular. His stomach lurched, as the very thing he had dreaded happening transpired before his horrified eyes.

She was having an attack. He wasted no time in pressing his palm above her heart, seeking to regulate its chaotic rhythm as she gasped for breath.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto dashed to her side as Sasuke lowered her gently onto the sand. "Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan is-!"

The sand before them violently blasted upwards into the air, and a monstrous shape uncoiled from it, looming ominously over them. Kakashi's lone eye widened as the creature that had been lurking beneath the dunes revealed itself in its enormous entirety. A deadly amphisbaena, a venomous snake with two, horned, dragon-like heads on either ends of its long, thick body hissed menacingly down at them. Its scales were a dull green and its red eyes fixed onto them, full of cold ravenous hunger. A bite from its fangs was toxic enough to melt through bone entirely. Kakashi's gaze darted back to where Sakura was having her attack, flicking onto Sasuke who was trying to stabilise her as quickly as possible.

Naruto leapt forward to shield them both, ready for battle once more as the terrifying serpent reared both heads back, ready to strike. He met Kakashi's gaze and nodded doggedly, resolute in his determination. They had to lead the creature away from where Sasuke was working on healing Sakura.

Kakashi focused his chakra, directing it to his Sharingan. He had no doubt Orochimaru had something to do with the monster's unexpected appearance. The amphisbaena was a notoriously resilient foe and was known to regenerate beneath the sand. They didn't have much chakra left to spare, and their top priority was to remove Sakura from any danger. He needed to stall long enough to deploy Kamui and warp them back to Sunagakure.

Naruto summoned a spinning ball of Rasengan and charged at the creature. The serpent released a deafening hiss and its front head snapped eagerly forward, sharp fangs gnashing as they sought to catch the sun deity in its jaws. Naruto leapt aside and slammed the howling sphere into its body. Its scales bristled, barely scathed, and its lower, dragon-like, horned head whipped up, missing Naruto's ankle by inches.

Kakashi directed a stream of Chidori at the snake, and it connected with a loud explosive sound, charring the creature's scales. The amphisbaena hissed in pain and reared its head back, before charging toward them with alarming speed.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. Sakura's lips were going blue, a dangerous indication that she wasn't getting enough oxygen into her blood-stream. He focused his powers, overriding her breathing reflex, keeping her heart pumping strongly enough to reverse the effects of oxygen deprivation. She was trembling violently in his arms, and he could feel the agitation of her soul, pulsing frenziedly within her pain-afflicted mortal shell.

Sakura, he thought out to her. Hold on.

Her eyes were glazed, staring unseeingly up at the night sky. Sasuke's heart pounded, feeling powerless as guilt ate away at him. Was this the moment? When his actions would cost Sakura her very existence? What if it didn't stop? Even stabilising her heart, the attack was not ceasing in its horrible intensity. He pumped wave after wave of healing chakra into her, desperate to bring her suffering to an end. Her chakra network was spiking irregularly, erratically, and he could not stand it, could do nothing but keep her heart rhythm steady and hope that the worst of it quickly passed.

The unsettling sensation of a shadow suddenly falling over him caused Sasuke to glance up - to find that another amphisbaena had silently surfaced out of the sand behind them, and was looking right down at them, its long, forked tongue flickering with ill-intent. He blinked, stunned, at a loss to account for how he had completely failed to sense it behind them. Sakura's plight had clearly caused him to ignore his surroundings entirely. His gaze then darted back to where Naruto and Kakashi were engaged in battle with the other monster, but before he could pick Sakura up in his arms to warp them both out of harm's reach, a sudden blur of movement whizzed past him, as Naruto, who had activated Sage Mode, slammed a huge ball of chakra into the creature's body with a furious cry.

"Back off, you ugly-ass, two-faced freak!" He shouted.

The amphisbaena recoiled, hissing, and then charged at him. Naruto dove aside and slashed at it with his twin blades, hacking away at its tough scales. They had little effect. Just as the serpent reared back to prepare another attack, Kakashi, who had evaded the first, leapt toward them, his eye-patch raised.

"Naruto!" he yelled. The sun deity's eyes widened in understanding and he sprinted hurriedly back toward Sasuke and Sakura, the amphisbaena hot on his heels. The air around them began to ripple and swirl as Kakashi unleashed Kamui, sucking them all into a transportational vortex that whisked them far away from the monsters and back to safety. It dumped them right outside Sunagakure's gates.

The watchmen at the gates' towers called out in alarm, and the doors immediately opened for them. They entered inside, glad when the sturdy doors locked shut behind them, keeping out the fierce, harsh wilderness of the desert landscape beyond.

Sasuke lowered Sakura gently onto the sandy ground. The worst of the attack, to his intense relief, appeared to have passed. Her breathing had steadied and her heart-rate was calming down. As Kakashi and Naruto knelt beside her, Kakashi said severely, "We were almost caught unawares because of your bickering. What's it going to take for you two to cooperate? Her death? Will you stop, then?"

Sasuke grit his teeth, but said nothing. Opposite him, Naruto swallowed thickly.

"That's enough, from both of you," Kakashi admonished. "We have two more relics left to retrieve. Let's try not to get her killed before we make it."

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked visibly uncomfortable and guilty, clearly shaken by Sakura's attack. They lifted sullen, unhappy eyes from her sleeping form and exchanged hostile glances with each other, but neither said anything in response.

"Let's get back to the hotel." Kakashi muttered, shaking his head in disapproval as he lifted Sakura off the ground. "Sakura needs to rest now, and I don't want any more trouble from either of you tonight."

Naruto and Sasuke rose to their feet and trailed silently after him. They did not argue or exchange any more words for the remainder of the evening.

---

Author's note

Reviews are gold and feedback would be appreciated. Two more relic sites left! Hope you enjoyed this update!