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.

96. Chapter 95

I'm back! This is a necessary transition chapter that focuses on relationship-building with a big chunk of fan-service, but expect things to move along very soon. If you're reading on FF, the full scene in this chapter is on Ao3. Instructions on how to find me there are on my profile.

---

Chapter XCV

---

The shadows whisper of seduction and sin,
Tempting dark kisses to feverish skin,
An initiation to unspeakable pleasures,
Given and taken in equal measure.

---

~x~

---

Following Suigetsu's unannounced visit, Karin had been granted two days to prepare herself for departure and returned indoors to undertake the uncomfortable task of requesting leave from her employer. She apologetically explained to a surprised Mrs. Shinba and the kind family who had taken her in that Suigetsu had arrived with the news that she was required to visit a distant relative who had fallen ill in another country - but that she would return as soon as possible to resume her duties.

The confusion had been evident on their faces; they had believed Karin to have no family by her own admission, and what urgent business could demand her immediate attention that she was required to depart so suddenly, without giving them adequate time to make alternative care arrangements?

Suigetsu, who had lingered by the doorway to listen to the exchange, had smoothly stepped in and provided a cover story so convincing and eloquent that no further questions had been asked. Karin had listened in silent astonishment as he had compellingly informed the family that it was her twice-removed second cousin's absolute dying wish to see Karin before he kicked the bucket.

"She's a poor orphan. Has no family," he had dramatically declared, oblivious to the way Karin's cheeks grew a deeper shade of scarlet with every passing second as he had casually slung an arm around her shoulders. Evidently delighting in the fact she was unable to shove him off at that instant or risk blowing their cover.

"Everyone kinda disowned her and didn't give a flying fu…" he'd coughed when she had dug a warning elbow into his rib. "...dge. But this one guy? He's stuck by her through thick and thin, told her to go chase her own dreams, to leave her old dead end job. And trust me when I say, it really was a dead-end. So she totally has to go. I can't go back without her. How would that look? You're nice people. You wouldn't deny a dying man his last wish, right?"

The family had finally agreed to freeze Karin's pay and hold her post until she returned, at Mrs. Shinba's insistence.

On the evening of the second day, Karin bid farewell to the family. The old lady and Koko prepared a generous bundle of delicious homemade food for her journey which she gratefully accepted. As she passed the wall-mounted mirror in the entrance hallway, she caught sight of her reflection, dressed in the local fashion that she was still getting used to piecing together. Knowing that she would be on the road and that the winter nights were chilly, she had opted for a practical outfit, teaming a warm brown duffle coat which she had purchased using her first month's wages with a beige sweater, brown leggings and comfortable leather ankle boots.

She slung a beige canvas backpack onto her shoulders, containing the food and a few other essentials for the trip and took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what lay in wait for her beyond the cottage's sanctuary. Adjusting her spectacles, she gave herself a grim nod in the mirror before marching toward the front door.

True to his word, she found Suigetsu waiting outside, standing beneath the illuminated porch lights. She shot him a sour look when he flashed a wide grin at her. He wore a white sport's jacket, a teal T-shirt, grey jeans and sneakers. He had no supplies with him and she felt her heart sink. A part of her had hoped he'd change his mind about their mission and forget about her altogether.

She had no such luck.

"Alright! Time for an adventure!" Suigetsu declared, as they walked away from the house that had grown into something of a second home to Karin. A place that she had become unexpectedly attached to and comfortable in.

She cast one final, longing look back at the cottage over her shoulder, hoping it wouldn't be too long before she could return to it to continue with her newfound independence - free from the blight of Suigetsu pestering her, forevermore.

Shifting the straps of her bag, she muttered beneath her breath, "Second cousin, twice removed?"

"Hah," Suigetsu's teeth glinted in the dimness. "You liked that? They totally bought it. Suckers."

Karin's lips thinned. "Don't call them that."

His eyebrows arched. "Aww. You care about them? Are they your little fwends?"

"Shut up," she returned, a word that seemed to automatically deploy itself on the tip of her tongue in his irritating presence.

"Who woulda thought you had any, huh?" he went on.

"More than you have," she retorted.

"Puh-lease!" he scoffed. "All the ocean denizens are my friends." He paused, before adding snarkily, "Well, except you."

"Like I'd want to be," she sneered.

"Like I'd let you be," he smirked.

"You wish." They both chimed in unison. Suigetsu blinked, then chuckled at their rare moment of synchronization.

Karin's hands closed into fists. They had scarcely reached the end of the path that removed Mrs. Shinba's residence from their line of sight, and she already felt the intense itch in her knuckles to punch Suigetsu right in the centre of his infuriatingly smug face. It wasn't too late to back out, she thought to herself. But if she did that, their deal would be null and void, and she would never be rid of the nuisance that was Poseidon.

Besides, she had discovered that the world itself was on the brink of descending into chaos. Orochimaru needed to be stopped in order to weaken Cronus's attempts at wreaking havoc on the balance of life. Releasing a quiet breath, she decided to do her best to ignore Suigetsu's immature attempts at getting a rise out of her. Just because she had agreed to accompany him on his annoying mission, that didn't mean she was obliged to engage in any form of conversation with him.

When he next spoke, however, it wasn't to mock or antagonise her.

"What made you change your mind, anyway?"

Karin frowned, somehow even more irritated that he was attempting to pull her into what appeared to be civil conversation. Suigetsu wasn't even capable of that, or anything civil in her opinion. He had to be playing a trick, and she was immediately suspicious. She didn't dare to lower her guard around him, even for an instant.

"What?" she huffed.

"About ditching the Underworld," Suigetsu gestured as they walked through the bustling village streets toward the heavily guarded exit of the town. "How come you decided to bail? It finally hit you that I was right all along?"

Karin turned her nose up, refusing to acknowledge that he had indeed been correct in his estimations that Sasuke had never regarded her in any capacity other than as a servant.

"I already told you," she huffed. "To live my own life, no more stupid orders."

"You sure were happy to follow those orders before Pinky came along," Suigetsu remarked, turning a sly grin her way.

The nymph bristled. It was the harsh truth. She had been delusional and oblivious until Sakura's arrival had rudely shattered her fantasies. Karin supposed she ought to be grateful to the girl for opening her eyes to the fact that she had never stood a chance with Sasuke - but the subject was still a sore one for her. She didn't want to dwell over the cruel reality that Sakura had managed to grow more favoured and special to the Underworld's ruler in the span of a few short months than Karin ever had in centuries of service. It stung. Yet she had nobody to blame except herself for viewing her situation through rose-tinted glasses.

Before she could snap at him to drop the matter, Suigetsu surprised her by elaborating, "When I last went down there, they looked pretty comfy together. Y'know, I used to think he was living out some kinda weird, twisted captive kink, but now? I think he's actually serious about her. He just chose the shittiest way to get her attention." He released a derisive snort. "But that's Uchiha arrogance for ya… think they can take whatever they want, no explanations needed."

Karin swallowed. She didn't want to know. But he was already going on.

"In fact, I'm willing to bet he'll give her a crown before next year's over." He paused, before adding, "That's if she doesn't die first. Heh. Wouldn't that be ironic? A real romance killer."

"What?" Karin's head jerked sharply toward him at the mention of the word crown.

He threw her a mocking look. "Oh c'mon, don't look so surprised. Even someone as blind as you can't miss how super into each other they are. It's so obvious!" He threw his hands up into the air animatedly as he chattered on. "That asshole would never go through so much trouble over a girl. Not in a million years. He's broken every rule there is over her! And if she's gonna be there six months every year for the rest of her life, it's practically gonna be her second home." He paused, then added, "Poor kid."

"She's human," Karin answered tightly, processing that the duration of her stay had to mean that Sakura had consumed six seeds from the Forbidden Fruit. Had Sasuke fed them to her himself? She pushed the idea from her head. It made her sick to the stomach to even think about. "A mortal can't rule the Underworld, idiot."

"Oh. Yeah. About that. Guess you don't know, huh?" Suigetsu mused. "See, Sakura's actually-" he broke off abruptly and glanced around, as if suddenly recalling that someone might overhear them.

Karin almost jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice echo inside her head a second later. A connection made possible by virtue of their shared elemental nature, underlining the fact - much to her dismay - that he was her true monarch, capable of enforcing his will at any given moment.

'Sakura's not just any normal human. She's responsible for setting off spring on the surface each year.' Karin listened in astonishment as he continued, 'She's a goddess trapped in a mortal body and she's been reincarnated hundreds of times over after she died in the first war. But we can't let anyone else know about that, got it?'

'How do you know about that?' Karin demanded.

'I forced Pinky to 'fess up. The Olympians have been hiding her from Cronus all this time by keeping her powers locked up in a human that dies and reincarnates. She can't sustain her abilities in a mortal body forever.'

Karin's mind reeled, stunned by the revelations. That fragile wisp of a girl was in fact an ancient, reincarnated spring goddess? The daughter of Demeter herself? It made everything - including Sasuke's unexpected attraction to her - make frightening sense.

She shook her head, trying to grasp the bewildering concept. 'How did she die? And how's she reborn? Does she even remember her past lives?'

'Nah. I think each time she passes on, that's it, she forgets. I mean, she told me she sees bits of her first life in dreams or whatever, but she can't remember all her other lives. It'd be shitty if she did. All those memories would drive her crazy. When she dies they put her in a sacred pool or whatever, and when she reincarnates, Tsunade has to raise her from infanthood all over again.'

Karin quietly exhaled. It was a tragic, terrible fate and not one that she envied. 'How did she die?' she questioned again, too engrossed by the tale to consciously realise that she and Suigetsu were engaging in an actual conversation.

'Cronus kidnapped her in her original life and used her gifts to poison the earth, which went against her function, so she kicked the bucket. They've been able to reincarnate her as a human ever since then using some powerful seals, but if Cronus ever gets hold of her again, shit'll hit the fan. She can literally be used to kill all vegetation on the planet, and humanity will be screwed.'

'Why doesn't she turn back into a goddess?' Karin blinked, nonplussed. Why stay in a frail, powerless mortal body?

'Beats me. I mean sure, in theory she can get her immortality back, but it's risky as fuck turning humans into gods. I dunno the ins and outs of how it all works - but it sure explains a lot about Sasuke kidnapping her in the first place, right?'

Karin rubbed at her arms, suddenly cold despite the warm jacket she was wearing. Suigetsu was right, of course. But she wasn't about to agree with him.

'Think about it.' He shrugged. 'This whole abduction thing - that's not like Mr Emotionally Constipated at all. My theory? I reckon they knew each other back then, and must've had some history in the past or shit like that.' He chuckled. 'Since when has Sasuke ever been interested in anyone? Sure, Sakura's cute, but… she's also Tsunade's kid. He'd never choose a daughter of an Olympian. They're all friends now though I hear, or at least, he doesn't wanna kill them anymore. Guess when it comes to Cronus, everyone has a common enemy.'

Karin hesitated despite herself, considering the threat of the formidable Titan. She had never met him in person. Something told her it was for the best that she hadn't.

"He's really serious about enslaving everything?" she asked out loud.

"Yeah," Suigetsu's eyebrows drew together. "Don't underestimate that psycho. He's batshit crazy. This guy created the Underworld, and he's the reason the war happened in the first place. If he gets off Olympus? We'll all be in shitloads of trouble. That's why we have to find that freak's last base."

"I thought we found them all," Karin frowned. "There were no others."

"We got the ones on the surface. I think he's using some special chakra barriers to keep his last hideouts hidden. He was working with that creep Danzo; he must've picked up some dirty tricks."

"Who's Danzo?"

"Geez. You really gotta brush up on your surface politics," Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and tell me," she glowered, unable to help herself from being dragged back into bickering with him. It was shocking and a rare occurrence that they had even managed to hold a civil exchange for as long as they had.

"My bad. Forgot you lived with your head underground for centuries, literally," he gave her a mildly sympathetic look. "Danzo was Pallas, one of the High Council. He tried to take Sasuke's Sharingan, so Sasuke killed him. Turns out Danzo was a traitor who had some shady contacts, too."

Karin knew of the High Council. But besides the Lady Chiyo who resided in the Underworld, she had not been aware of the true names of all the others.

They reached the gargantuan wooden entrance gates to the village, where the security on watch opened the sturdy doors for them, and they slipped out into the quiet winter's night.

As they trudged along the road, Karin was suddenly self-conscious of being truly alone in Suigetsu's company. There was no Jugo to divert her from the strange tension that was stretched so tautly in the air between them that it seemed capable of snapping at any given moment. No stern ward in Sasuke, on hand to diffuse their arguments with a single, threatening look. Nobody else but the two of them.

She felt ill at ease, and readjusted the shoulder straps of her bag, casting a surreptitious glance at him out of the corner of her eye as they followed the gravelly path toward a cluster of trees that loomed in the distance. He was busy scanning the area around them, almost as if he anticipated that something might ambush them at any second.

Suigetsu's silence was even more disconcerting and annoying than his insufferable teasing. She had expected him to hound her non-stop the moment they'd left Mrs. Shinba's house. Instead they'd just had a conversation that almost bordered on interesting.

Why did he never do what she expected?

They continued onward, until she could stand the quiet no longer. He was supposed to talk. To say something stupid. Instead he was deciding to impersonate Sasuke, all of a sudden?

"Well?" she finally broke the hush, impatient and irritable. "I thought we were searching under the oceans. What're we walking for?"

"Getting our daily steps in. Duh." Catching the incredulous look on her face, he offered, "Oh, it's this mortal craze I've picked up on my visits to surface villages. They aim to walk a certain amount of steps each day. Weird, I know. They think it'll prolong their lives or some shit. They don't get that The Fates have already measured their strings."

She blinked. His arbitrary topics of conversation were as unpredictable as the oceans themselves.

"Why are we walking?" she repeated.

"'Cause I feel like it."

"Why can't you just answer a question normally?"

"Normal's underrated," he dismissed. "And why would I answer when I can make you mad instead?" The smile he directed at her was sharp. Cutting.

"You're an asshole," Karin spat, walking faster until she overtook him. "Just forget it."

"Touchy." He called after her, his voice laced with amusement. "There's a river on the other side of the forest, you crabby bitch. That's where we're headed."

She stomped on ahead, ignoring his amused chuckles, and another awkward, lengthy silence settled between them. The lights from the village gates they'd exited through were now faraway, twinkling dots behind them. Karin assumed that they had been travelling on foot for at least thirty five minutes. Koko had taught her how to read surface time, and a glance at the watch she wore on her wrist confirmed that it had indeed been just over thirty minutes since they'd departed.

"Why can't you just warp us there?" she finally complained.

"What's the rush? Relax!" he exclaimed. "Enjoy the scenery. My epic company! Look at the pretty stars up there. Smell that cool night air." He inhaled deeply for effect. "We're going on an adventure. Soak it up!"

"Listen, you idiot!" She snapped, whirling back around to face him as they finally reached the border of woodland densely packed with spruce evergreens. "I don't want to travel with you for a second longer than I need to, so-"

She broke off abruptly, detecting a faint pulse of chakra around them. Her head turned, trying to locate it.

The ocean deity's eyebrows arched. "Uh, what're you doing?"

"Be quiet," she whispered harshly. "Something's here!"

Suigetsu's eyes dropped to the ground. "So soon, huh?" he said, almost to himself. Then he snapped his fingers, causing a large, protective bubble to close around her.

"What're you doing?!" she hissed.

"Making sure your ugly ass isn't abducted," Suigetsu lifted his arms. "There you are," his gaze then fixed intently behind her. "About time."

"Wha-?" Karin glanced over her shoulder - only to find that a White Zetsu had appeared through the thicket - the source of the chakra disturbance she had detected.

"Just waiting to snap her up for your freak-show of a master, huh?" Suigetsu's lavender eyes glowed ominously in the darkness and Karin caught her breath when the bubble abruptly transported her behind the ocean ruler. "Tough shit. You can't have her."

"There're others!" Karin warned. "I can sense them underground!"

"You heard her," Suigetsu hoisted Samehada off his back and stabbed it into the earth. The blade bristled and spiked, responding to the chakra signatures it detected nearby. "Heh. Looks like Samehada's hungry. Don't be shy. Come on out and play."

When only the single Zetsu remained, Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "If you won't come out, guess I'll just force you out." He lifted a foot, and slammed it down on the ground. Karin's eyes widened as the earth quivered in response and with a groan, cracked and broke out in sudden rifts, through which surged rising waves of water.

Four more White Zetsu oozed out through the cracks, forced to the surface by the sea king's element.

"It's funny how everyone forgets," Suigetsu clucked his tongue in disapproval. "I don't just cause tsunamis. I can use water pressure to trigger earthquakes, too. That was just a little demo for ya." He shifted his foot once more, a threatening light in his amethyst eyes. "Bring out the rest of you shitheads tailing us," he ordered, his expression hard and unforgiving. "Or I'll uproot you all like the fucking weeds you are, right now."

One by one, further Zetsu slowly manifested until there were at least a dozen of them. They were unnatural and horrific to look at. Karin felt her skin crawl, reminded of the kinds of freakish experiments Orochimaru delighted in partaking in.

"That's better," Suigetsu smirked. "Now, I've got a message for your master. See, I really don't like being followed, and it definitely pisses me off when my people are harassed by scumbags like you. You want her?" He angled his head in Karin's direction. "Give it your best shot."

"What're you doing?" Karin hissed at him. Why was he goading them?

"Relax," Suigetsu flashed her a savage smile. "I'm in the mood to maim. Stand back and enjoy the show."

Her mouth fell open as he launched himself forward, hopping onto a rising wave that carried him with blinding speed toward the enemy. He surfed smoothly past them, ducking and leaping fluidly aside to avoid their attempts at latching onto him with extended spores, stabbing and slicing at their limbs with the ferocious Samehada blade. When they attempted to get close to Karin, they were denied by vicious vortexes of water that swept them forcefully aside, compelling them to scatter.

After toying with them for a few minutes, Suigetsu came to a stop on the crest of a wave. He tilted his head mockingly down at the Zetsu, inspecting them with interest as they attempted to liquify into the ground to avoid his attacks and retreat.

"Pfft. Running away? That's really all you got?" He faked a yawn. "Lame."

Karin's eyes widened when she noted the Zetsu were beginning to multiply - at alarming speed. "Look out!" she shrieked. "They're cloning!"

"Huh?" Suigetsu squinted. "Heh. Damn. So they are." Shrugging, he decided, "Okay, now I'm just bored. Hey, you guys know how to swim?"

Karin gaped up at him, disturbed by his abrupt shifts in mood. He snapped his fingers again, and before any of the Zetsu even had time to react, violent bursts of water erupted from the fissures in the ground, taking the form of howling, raging water dragons that descended upon the creatures with vengeance, devouring the monstrosities within seconds and flooding the entirety of the forest floor with powerful, cascading waves. It happened so fast and with such terrifying force that Karin was left stunned by the awful display of power she had just witnessed.

She gaped at Suigetsu, who stood nonchalant and casual amidst the chaos, his hair and clothing tossed by the winds generated from the powerful, gale-force water typhoons that had made short work of the enemies tracking them.

"My bad," he grinned toothily. "Guess you don't."

As the water dragons dove back into the ground, the bubble around her dissipated, and she felt her feet touch solid ground again. The Zetsu had vanished, dragged deep back through the earth and transported to what was likely to be their dooms in the underlying seas.

"He'll send more of these fuckers," Suigetsu muttered, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "But they can't tail us in water. Okay. Change of plan. Scratch walking." He swung the hefty Samehada blade over his shoulder and sauntered over to her.

When he stopped toe to toe with her, Karin tensed and leaned away from him, flinching away from proximity of any sort.

"What're you doing?" she questioned, nervous and ready to punch him if he tried anything untoward.

His eyes glittered like brilliant jewels in the darkness as he flashed her a brief, wolfish grin and Karin was horrified to find herself momentarily powerless to look away. What was it about that devil-may-care grin that caused her stomach to twist into tight, barbed-wire knots? She hated it.

"Aren't you glad we left the village?" He cooed. "Because they would've had your lil friends' heads on a spike. Admit it, I was right."

Karin glared obstinately back at him. She would sooner cut off her own tongue than concede such a thing. He chuckled in amusement, and her heart nearly leapt out of her throat when he grabbed her left arm and jerked her close.

Cheeks blazing, she sputtered, "W-what the hell?! Get your filthy hands off-!"

"Better hold on," he drawled, completely ignoring her discomfort. A vortex of water began to swirl around them, growing in momentum and speed until Karin was forced to clutch onto him to retain balance. "We're about to go for a swim."

---

~x~

---

Sakura stood before the exquisitely carved mirror, staring absent-mindedly at her reflection as she ran a jewel-encrusted brush through her pale rose hair. The locks had lightened significantly since the carefree days of her childhood. She recalled they had been a deeper shade of pink, and that she had been teased often about it before a fiercely protective Ino had angrily snuffed the bullying out.

Sakura had always wondered why her hair was different to everybody else's, and when she had once tearfully wished for it to be a normal shade, Ino had gripped her shoulders and firmly told her that all the girls secretly envied her hair because only real magical princesses had rosy tresses and that's precisely what Sakura was.

Being called a magical princess had been the closest she had ever come to learning that she was truly a special, supernatural being trapped within a mortal shell. She supposed her hair and eye colour were fitting, given her role and the tree Tsunade had envisaged at the time of her creation. Her mother had told her the story of the man she had loved long before the war.

Following Tsunade's surprise visit, Sakura had returned to the palace, only to discover that Sasuke was nowhere to be found. She'd attempted to call out to him through the link they shared, but only silence had greeted her. After questioning a few servants, she'd been informed that he had departed for the surface again. Busying herself with reading more of Rhea's journal for a while, she'd eventually grown sleepy and prepared herself for bed, slipping into a rich, plum-hued silk and lace negligee, over which she had thrown a long, matching robe, tied messily at the waist with a satin sash.

Seeing her mother had filled Sakura's heart with gladness and hope that one day, she would visit again for longer, that she would someday consent to being shown the rest of the Underworld and come to understand that it wasn't the dreadful, oppressive place everyone believed it to be. The same way she dearly hoped that Tsunade would eventually grow to accept Sasuke.

She dared to think of what life might be like if she survived, if the threat of Cronus was contained. Could she do something as ordinary as inviting Sasuke over for dinner at their house? She winced. It would surely be a disaster. Would he ever consent to getting to know her mother better? It was too soon to ask such a thing of him, and they had far more important priorities to focus on, but she hoped that one day, they could all sit united at a table and interact in a civil manner.

Thinking about a future that was safe and peaceful was wishful on her part, Sakura knew, and yet it was a far better alternative to the doom and gloom of the depressing reality of their situation. For all of Shisui and Itachi's intricate planning, the problem presented by the Rinnegan's difficult activation meant that there were no guarantees that she would make it, or even that all of them would. Cronus, she knew all too well from unpleasant, first hand experience, was not to be underestimated. He would do whatever it took to escape his enforced confinement and wreak wrath and ruin upon mortals and Olympians.

A sudden knock on the double-doors behind her drew her attention away from the jeweled brush in her hand. Sakura glanced up, staring at the doors in the reflection of the mirror.

"Come in," she called, assuming that it had to be Ume and Chizu returning to check on her.

She watched as the doors parted to reveal none other than the tall, fetching form of the Underworld's king. Her heart fluttered, butterflies immediately scattering in all directions in her stomach. Her eyes followed his movements, mesmerised, as he entered the room and stalked unhurriedly toward her, the doors closing behind him. The deafening click of the lock followed, making it clear that he did not wish for them to be disturbed.

Clad in his formal, dark garb, he was a vision of regal nobility. Sakura couldn't drag her eyes away from his handsome profile, cast half in light and half in shadow from the fireplace's golden glow.

"Sasuke," she murmured, watching as he walked over to a table and unstoppered a large crystal decanter of golden ambrosia and poured himself a goblet. It had been placed in her room as a precaution in the event she required an emergency supply.

His dark eyes flicked onto her.

"My mother left a while ago," she informed him. "She just wanted to check that I was okay after my attack. She said things have been quiet and they're still looking for Orochimaru's hideout on the surface."

The hand that had lifted the cup to his lips paused. "Still nothing?"

Sakura shook her head. "I thought you'd gone to the surface to maybe talk to Kakashi-sensei or Naruto about it."

He swallowed back the contents of the goblet, before setting it down and turning toward her.

"No. Souls," he said simply, disclosing the reason for his surface visit.

She turned back to her reflection and continued running the brush through her hair.

"How do you do that? Collect them all?" It was a question she had been curious about for a long time. Humans died every second of every minute of every day, in every country all over the world. How did he gather all of their spirits? How did he have time to do that, on top of all his other burdens?

"They linger close to their bodies for a while after death," he replied, his gaze trailing over her choice of clothing as he began to walk toward her. "When I go to the surface, I summon them."

"But aren't they far away?"

"It doesn't matter where they are. Souls are capable of travelling great distances in seconds."

She nodded in understanding. He had the irresistible power to draw all deceased souls to him, regardless of where they were, and they were bound to obey his immortal will.

"And they all come willingly?" she asked softly, imagining that there had to be many that were reluctant to depart their earthly lives.

He drew to a stop behind her, so close that she could feel the warmth from his body. It made her pulse quicken.

His eyes locked onto hers in the glass, and he murmured, "None resist."

She could barely suppress the shiver that zigzagged down her spine. His intense obsidian gaze held her captive in the mirror's reflection and she could not tear her eyes from his. The air around them felt smothering, charged with static, the irresistible chemistry between them once again an overwhelming force of nature that gravitated them toward one another, like polar opposites. And she knew that they were. Life and death.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat when his hands lifted to rest snugly on the soft curves of her hips. They then slid across to the front of her robe and slowly untied the sash, allowing it to fall open. He pressed a palm over the silky material above her abdomen, tugging her back against him.

"Sasuke," her voice wobbled dangerously. Her grip around the hairbrush's handle tightened as warmth pooled through her body, responding to his masculine heat and proximity with an eagerness that stole the breath from her lungs and scattered every coherent thought from her mind.

His presence was overwhelming, intoxicating. It did terrible things to her sanity. She could feel the underlying current of hunger in the demanding way his fingertips were digging into her hips, mirroring her own craving to touch him, to continue the exploration of intimacy and discovery of one another that they had commenced in the privacy of his chambers.

The robe slipped from her shoulders, and Sakura's eyes slipped shut, head falling back as Sasuke pushed the freshly brushed locks of her hair to one side. She released a breathy sigh when he blazed a trail of fiery, lazy kisses along the junction between her neck and shoulder, before his lips clamped down over her flesh, sucking sensually.

A steely left arm wound around her front and she released a soft gasp when his hand lifted to her right breast. The fingertips of his free hand trailed along her right arm, channelling electricity into her tingling nerve-endings, until they reached her hand, prying the brush gently from her hold. It fell to the marble ground with a clatter, and his fingers encircled her wrist, restricting her from moving her hand any further.

One mere look, one mere touch, and she came undone. How was it possible to feel so profoundly for him? To want him, to need him, with such desperation, with every fibre of her being? It was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.

Lifting his lips to her left ear, he murmured, "The mirror. Look at it, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes fluttered open - only for the breath to hitch in her throat. She watched, spell-bound, as delicate wisps of shadow snaked out from the hand that cupped her breast, unfurling into the air around them. Her heart somersaulted almost painfully in her chest when those icy tendrils licked against the base of her neck, prompting her eyes to meet his in the mirror's reflection once more.

He was controlling their direction and motion through sheer will, she realised, without needing to lift a single finger.

"My dream," she whispered, referring to the racy vision she had seen of them dancing together in the nightclub - certain, at that moment, that he had known about it all along. "You saw it, didn't you...?"

In response, the tendrils caressed along her arms and tickled the sensitive skin between her cleavage, exposed beneath the low neckline of her nightwear. Captivated by the hypnotic ripples of darkness, Sakura moved her right hand, passing it through the pulsing dark mist. It swirled around her fingertips like cold, liquid silk. Her eyes met Sasuke's, discerning, clearly, the intensity and desire that simmered within those fathomless depths. An intensity and desire that set her entire body trembling with anticipation.

Piercing onyx smouldered into her and she knew that she had been right all along.

"Watch me," Sasuke exhaled into her ear, lifting a hand to grip her chin, "make it real."

Angling her face back toward him, he bent his head to her, capturing her lips in a slow, torturous kiss that made her legs feel weak. Sakura attempted to lift her hands to him, desperate to feel more of him - only to encounter resistance when coolness wrapped around her arms and wrists, pinning them in place at his command.

It was pure seduction. The heat of his strong body enveloping her, coupled with the coldness of the shadows. It was everything she had fantasised in her dream and more. She melted back against him and the kiss grew deeper, more ravenous.

His right hand slid slowly across her abdomen, venturing lower, until it found the hem of her night-dress, and Sakura succumbed to pure sensation as he began to teach her that the shadows were nothing to be feared and everything to be desired.

---

~x~ Full scene on Ao3 ~x~

---

"Geez," Ino whispered, rubbing at her arms uneasily as she entered the mouth of the Underworld. "It really is haunted down here, huh?"

Some time had passed since she had initially made the request for Sai to accompany her to visit Sakura. After discovering that Tsunade had already ventured beneath the surface to see her daughter, an emboldened Ino was determined to call on her best friend and find out for herself how she was doing. It had been difficult to plan and find the right time to slip out of the High Council grounds unnoticed by all the others when so many meetings and surface missions required their presence, but they had finally found an opening that night and succeeded in sneaking away.

Sai led the way, holding a bright torch in his hand, and together they descended the steps of the long tunnel that climbed down to the vast entrance cavern of the realm. The temperature around them was chilly, and Ino was glad she had decided to wear her warm khaki parka coat on top of her ribbed turtle-neck top and jeans. She inhaled deeply, tasting the dampness that clung to the atmosphere in suspended droplets.

"It is the Realm of the Dead," Sai supplied matter-of-factly.

She scowled, keeping close to him, fighting the senseless urge to reach out and grip onto the back of his grey jacket. "I know what it is. Can you stop saying the obvious? You're really not helping my nerves right now."

"Your nerves?" Sai responded thoughtfully, contemplating the emotion.

"Yeah. You know, nervousness? Remember?" She pulled an incredulous face. "Geez. That old creep Danzo really trained you to unlearn every single emotion when you were with the ANBU, huh?"

Sai blinked, mildly surprised. How had she come to learn about that, he wondered? He could only assume that Tsunade must have shed some light on his past at some point - although he was curious as to why the beautiful Aphrodite would bother asking questions about him at all.

When he remained silent, she sensed that perhaps she had overstepped, and offered, "Sorry. I wasn't snooping on you or anything. As if. I've just never met anyone who's so emotionally…"

Sai paused on his step and turned his head, glancing back at her over his shoulder. Ino felt her cheeks warm when those inky dark eyes briefly met hers in the surrounding dimness. She gulped back the adjective that had deployed itself on the tip of her tongue - weird - and hastily amended, "Uh… nevermind. Forget it. I hate this place."

Talking distracted her from how anxious she was to be in the Kingdom of the Dead. She had never visited it before, and with good reason. It wasn't exactly a known holiday resort to immortals, and in the past, the prestigious Uchiha clan had been very strict with whom they permitted to pass through their borders. Little was known about the Underworld by outsiders; it was a realm as secretive as shrouding shadows. Apart from the deceased, only those on official business from the surface were allowed to enter, such as messengers with a missive from Olympus. Fewer still had ever been granted an audience with the royal family.

She supposed that rule hadn't changed, despite the fact that only one Uchiha presently inhabited the realm.

Sai paused again. "Do you wish to turn back?" he asked.

"No!" Ino shook her head, prodding him in the shoulder to continue onwards. "Keep going. We've come all this way! I just can't believe Sakura has to be stuck down here for six months. It's cold and dark and depressing." She shuddered in distaste. "Ugh. Please tell me it doesn't look this gloomy everywhere."

"The palace is impressive," Sai finally reached the last steep step, then turned to Ino and offered a gallant hand to help her down. She blinked, surprised by the thoughtfulness of the gesture, and automatically accepted it. As soon as she stepped down, she hastily pulled her hand away, trying to ignore how her fingers seemed to prickle oddly from the lingering warmth of his touch.

"Wait, what?" Her eyebrows shot up as she shone her own torch around, warily inspecting their surroundings. The cold air around them was cloaked beneath a thick blanket of fog, making Ino's skin crawl in anticipation of something horrendous leaping out at them through the surrounding mist. "You've actually been inside there? When?"

"No. I have seen it only from the outside." He didn't add that he had almost had his head ripped off the last time he had set eyes on it, sneaking into the realm without permission to visit Sakura. He was feeling on edge, too, although his placid exterior betrayed nothing of his inner state of unrest. Sasuke was not a deity to be underestimated. Just because he was cooperating with them, that didn't mean any of them were friends. And Sai knew that Sasuke had never particularly liked him.

A menacing, thunderous growl rumbled through the cavern, piercing through the dense, roiling fog. Ino flinched, her heart turning cartwheels within her chest. The legendary Hound of Hell himself lurked just ahead. Perhaps Cerberus would recognise Sai as the Messenger and herald of the Olympians and allow him safe passage, but how would the mighty beast respond to her presence? She doubted Cerberus even knew who she was.

"Maybe we should've told the others where we were going," she whispered loudly.

"If I recall, it was your idea not to inform them." Sai reminded her.

"Well, yeah. Because I thought they'd be against it, okay?! Naruto would've definitely wanted to tag along, and then Hinata, and then we'd have a whole party of people showing up. At least if it's just the two of us, then if Sasuke doesn't kick us out, we can tell the others they can visit too, right?"

Sai said nothing to that. He hadn't wanted to set foot inside the kingdom again and was only there for her sake. Their feet crunched over gravelly stone as they walked onwards, until at last they glimpsed a set of six eyes glowing ominously in the darkness.

"Sai, wait!" Ino reached out, grabbing hold of his arm and inching closer to his side. "Can't we just skip this part? You can warp us straight to the palace, can't you?"

"I do not wish to incite Sasuke's wrath by disrespecting his laws," Sai shook his head. "We ought to enter his realm correctly."

"Ugh," Ino shoved her torch in her pocket and joined her hands together around his arm. "You chose a really crappy time to remember your manners. I swear, if I get a speck of that gross mutant dog dribble on me-"

Sai halted, bemused, glancing down at the way she was clinging to him. "Why are you holding onto me?" he questioned monotonously.

"Because this place freaks me out!" Ino hissed. "Cerberus is over there! How are you so calm?!"

She tensed, interrupted by loud, ear-splitting barks. Her eyes widened at the scraping sound of heavy chains being dragged across the ground. Horror paralysed her body as she wondered whether Cerberus was about to charge right at them.

"Let's just warp!" she exclaimed, tugging on Sai's arm as the growls and fiery eyes grew closer. "Sai, get us out of here!"

"Cerberus has seen us. We must continue ahead and make ourselves known first. Those are the rules."

"Forget the rules! That thing's coming right this way!"

"Cerberus recognises the dead and does not attack immortals," Sai assured her. "Not unless Sasuke instructs him. We must announce who we are, so that he is informed."

"Ugh…" Ino reluctantly allowed him to inch them closer. "I don't like this. It stinks of rotten meat."

"I suppose that might be his last meal."

Ino cringed. "You're not helping. I think I'm going to puke."

"Don't be nervous." Sai patted her hand awkwardly, offering her one of his strange smiles. "I will make sure you don't get hurt."

"Oh, my hero," she mumbled beneath her breath. "But you're the one Sasuke's threatened in the past. Maybe it's you that I'm more worried about."

Sai felt an odd shift within his chest at her words. Did she truly feel concern for him? He could not dwell on the thought for long though, for the colossal Cerberus loomed just ahead of them, intimidating and ferocious.

"Honourable Gatekeeper," Sai greeted formally. Ino huddled behind his back, lifting a hand to his shoulder, gripping hard onto the fabric of his jacket as she gaped up at the humongous, three-headed beast in a mixture of awe and horror. She had never interacted with the creature before and had no idea what to expect of its temperament, other than what she had heard about the hound from others. And true to spoken word, Cerberus appeared to be anything but friendly.

"We are Hermes and Aphrodite of Olympus. We are here to request an audience with the King of the Dead."

"And Sakura!" Ino added, astonished at how unfazed Sai was in the face of the vicious, flesh-eating behemoth. Clearly he had experience dealing with the beast. "We want to see Sakura Haruno!" As an afterthought, she trilled, "Please...?"

Cerberus' glowing eyes locked onto her, and his triple heads snarled in response.

"What's happening?" she asked, shifting nervously on her feet.

"I believe he is informing Sasuke of our arrival. We must wait," Sai responded.

"Those eyes are looking at me like I'm their next meal," Ino threw jittery, distrustful glances up at Cerberus.

"It must be because you look delicious," Sai said, in a tone so flat that Ino felt her jaw slacken.

"E-excuse me?!" She gaped, stepping back, face aflame. Had Sai just flirted with her? Unintentionally? However he seemed completely oblivious to what he had just said, or otherwise thought nothing unusual of it.

"I can't believe you just said that!" Ino pressed a hand to her burning cheek. "You can't just say things like that so casually!"

"What is the correct thing for me to say in this situation?" The Messenger deity blinked, clueless as to what social script he ought to follow.

"How about nothing?"

"But you are talking. Is it not impolite to ignore you?"

"That's- I-" Ino was mortified to find herself stuttering. When had she ever stuttered in front of any man? What was wrong with her? No. What was wrong with him? Why was he so infuriatingly odd? Why didn't he fit the prototype of every other male specimen she had ever come across?

"I'm not trying to make conversation." She folded her arms defensively. "I just talk a lot when I'm nervous, okay?"

"Ah. I understand. Then you are often nervous," Sai mused.

"What?" she stared at him in confusion.

"I believe you talk a lot in general," he quipped. "You are… what is the correct phrase?" He pondered, trying to recall the word she had once told him was appropriate to use for describing such a noisy individual. "Ah. A blabber-mouth."

"I- excuse me?" she frowned at him, affronted. "I am not! Sure, maybe I talk a lot compared to you. An ant talks more than you do!"

"Ants do not talk," he dead-panned.

"Ugh!" She pressed a hand to her forehead. "I didn't mean literally. I meant you barely talk. In fact," she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm surprised you're talking so much right now."

"I thought it would help."

"It's not. You just called me a blabber-mouth. What's wrong with you?"

"You taught me that is what one calls a person who talks a great amount. And you are talking a great amount," he pointed out, failing to see why she was growing increasingly agitated.

Ino gawked at him, forgetting all about Cerberus momentarily. "Are you serious? I meant a loud-mouthed person! Like- like Naruto, who really never shuts up!" She held up a finger in warning. "Don't you even dare think about implying that I never shut up!"

Sai merely stared back at her with jet-black eyes.

Ino shook her head at him, thoroughly unsettled. "Better ask him to tell Sasuke to hurry up," she muttered. "Before I end up feeding you to him myself. Jerk."

The Messenger deity gave her a blank smile in return.

---

~x~

---

They lay lazily together in contented silence, limbs tangled in the silken sheets, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Sakura, enveloped in Sasuke's left arm and nestled snugly against his side, smiled shyly against his bare chest, her rosy cheeks aglow with exertion and happiness. She felt as light as air, like she was ready to float amongst the clouds.

Sasuke's fingertips, tracing idle swirls along her side, were pleasant and soothing against her skin. Sakura peeked up at him, to find his heavy-lashed eyes were closed, a content, sated expression on his face. Her heart swelled with pride. Once again, she had been the one to give him that peace, to release all the tension that burdened his soul. She gazed at him in awe, knowing that she would never tire of seeing him so relaxed.

Stroking tentatively over the defined muscles of his chest, she listened to the comforting beat of his heart, beaming with the satisfaction of a cat that had gotten the cream. Her body felt deliciously sore and replete, and she knew his teeth and lips had marked her flesh in several areas. Intimacy with Sasuke, she decided, was fast becoming one of her favourite activities. And who could blame her, given his smouldering looks, the physical perfection of his body, the sizzling chemistry that existed between them and the way he knew exactly what he was doing?

"What made you look into my dream that night, Sasuke?" she spoke softly, breaking through the hush. "Curiosity?"

He released a short puff of breath that sounded akin to a light scoff. "You spoke my name."

"Oh." Sakura's lips parted, and she felt her cheeks warm, embarrassed. What must he have thought of her at the time, she wondered? She supposed he would have been confused and unsettled. Yet she never could've imagined back then that the gifts she had dreamed of were capable of providing such intense, delicious pleasure in the waking world - much less that she would ever come to experience them first hand.

"It was definitely better than the dream," she grinned bashfully against his skin.

"Hn." A small, smug smirk curved on his petulant lips. Sakura caught sight of it, and unable to resist, pushed herself up to her elbows on his chest. His eyes opened, meeting hers, drawing her in like inescapable black vortexes. Leaning down, she pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips. Sasuke reached up, lacing his fingers into her dishevelled locks, and deepened the kiss, his tongue probing and swirling around hers.

Sakura pressed herself against him, captivated wholly by the way his lips moved against hers, warm, hungry and demanding. Fire and ice and lightning sparked within her all at once. She felt his fingers caress down over the curve of her spine, eliciting dangerous tingles that made her shiver.

When he finally permitted her to draw back for air, looking up at her with heavy-lidded eyes, Sakura took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm her cantering heart once more. It was terrifying, to think that they had just finished giving and receiving pleasure, but already, her body was craving his again. What madness had possessed their minds, that they were incapable of keeping their hands and lips from one another? Every look, every lingering touch, was so thickly charged with such delicious sexual attraction and tension and she found herself revelling in it, relishing the carnal desires he awoke within her.

It was an addiction, an affliction. The sweetest addiction Sakura had ever known.

"How do you know," she whispered against his lips, "just what to do, when you can't remember any of it?"

Sasuke considered the question. He didn't have the answer, couldn't account for the way his hands seemed to find familiarity in the curves of her body, like touching her was second nature to him. How he did not hesitate, seemed to move on autopilot, as if every action was already perfectly rehearsed and ingrained in his mind ahead of performance.

But how could he possibly explain that to her? He wasn't good with words, and didn't know how to describe the strange phenomenon. How could something he had no recollection of feel so hauntingly familiar to him?

He responded by tugging her down for another lazy, passionate kiss. Sakura forgot about talking, until at length he broke it, paused, then scowled lightly, not ready for the blissful haze around them to dissipate so soon, and yet, it seemed that once again, an intruder had alternative plans.

"What is it?" Sakura stared down at him, bemused over what the cause of his sudden displeasure could be. "What's wrong?"

He met her gaze, and muttered, "Visitors."

---

~x~

---

Once they had passed beyond the forest's border, they happened upon a large body of water that glistened beneath the silver light of the full moon. Karin was filled with trepidation as they came to a stop before it. How long had it been since she had turned her back on her own world? She had sworn to herself that she would have nothing to do with the ocean realm ever again, and yet there she was, on the verge of diving right back in of her own volition.

Had she lost her senses? How had she allowed Suigetsu to talk her into such a ludicrous thing? Why did she even need to worry about saving the world - wasn't that the responsibility of the gods themselves? Karin was furious at herself once again. Her heart thumped unpleasantly against her ribcage as she watched the waves lap serenely at the pebbled shoreline, and suddenly her throat felt like dried parchment.

Did she really want to go in? What if Suigetsu was tricking her? What if he was lying? What if, after they located the hideout, he wouldn't let her leave after all? It wasn't beneath his character to spin webs of mischief. In fact she expected it of him.

The sea king gestured with a hand and the water was immediately shifting at his command, gathering obediently together in a flurry to give way to two magnificent sea stallions with jewel-encrusted reins.

Karin's lips parted in astonishment as he hopped lithely onto the saddle of his horse. He was letting her get on one of his personal steeds? She couldn't believe it.

Tugging on the reins, he turned back to look at her, raising an eyebrow at the apprehensive expression on her face.

"Uh, hello?" he questioned. "What's with the stupid look on your face?" When she said nothing, he turned his gaze skyward, exasperated. "Seriously? You really wanna stay on land after what just happened?"

When she said nothing, he pressed, "Don't you get it? They know where you are now. You can't stay. The only way to get rid of those fuckers for good is to take Orochimaru down."

"It's not that," she snapped, gripping the straps of her bag tightly. He didn't realise how significant the moment was for her. She needed time to absorb it, to prepare for immersing herself back into the environment that she had abandoned for the Underworld so long ago. "I just need a minute!"

"To do what?" Suigetsu demanded, baffled and irked that she was refusing his magnanimous gesture of hospitality. "We don't have time for sappy trips down memory lane. Why do you hate water so much anyway, huh?" His eyes narrowed, as if the fact insulted him. Maybe it did. "You're a river nymph." He reminded her. "You're travelling with me. Nothing's going to attack you."

When she still hesitated, he nodded at the vacant steed.

"Look! I'm even lending you one of my own horses. You better get your ungrateful ass on that saddle before I change my mind and force you to swim all the way," he threatened.

Karin glowered at him, then finally, reluctantly, forced her feet to move. Awkwardly she attempted to clamber onto the horse. Suigetsu watched her comical efforts for several seconds, before rolling his eyes skyward and snapping his fingers. She shrieked as a funnel of water suddenly pushed her feet upwards and deposited her unceremoniously onto the saddle.

Suigetsu snickered. "Alright," he nodded, satisfied. "Time to get moving."

"Wait!" She said tensely, straightening in her seat. "How do I steer this thing?"

He tossed her a condescending look. "These bad boys know how to move. You just hold on tight."

Before she could voice anything else, the horses dove abruptly into the waves. Karin held her breath as cold water surrounded her. Blinded by bubbles, she felt a rising surge of panic as the steed carried her with breathtaking speed through the undercurrent. She then realised in dismay that although the food she had brought along with her had been tightly sealed in water-proof containers, her extra clothing and bag would be ruined.

She could only hope that Suigetsu would ensure he dried them all off quickly to spare her any further inconvenience.

"You can breathe," his amused voice reached her ears. "You're a river nymph. Stop holding your breath like you're mortal, idiot."

It had been so long, that Karin had forgotten her instincts. She tentatively inhaled, to find that she was completely unaffected as the water filled her mouth and nose. Their surroundings were passing by far too quickly for her to be given the opportunity to dwell on where they were, but as they delved deeper, the dark waters became illuminated by way-markers set into brightly glowing shell lamps.

The oceans contained a magic and mystery that was hidden from human knowledge. Even the Olympians themselves knew little about what lurked beneath the formidable waves of Poseidon's territory. Spanning larger than Olympus and even the Underworld itself in the area and volume his oceans covered, he possessed the greatest expanse in terms of the sheer scope of his kingdom.

"See?" he called. "It's not so bad, right? You've always gotta be so dramatic about shit."

Karin did not respond. To her unpleasant surprise, it didn't take her body long to adjust to being back in the water. Almost as if it innately recalled its own natural environment. As they travelled on and she gradually began to relax into her saddle, Karin begrudgingly admitted to herself that she had quite forgotten how liberating the oceans could be. She couldn't quite recall when she had last been in her element like this. She had certainly never had the distinct privilege of riding one of Poseidon's regal sea stallions. The horses lived up to their reputations, travelling swiftly through the waves, blinding in their speed and majestic in their power.

It was disturbing, to be back in the very environment she had sworn to forsake so many centuries earlier. And yet, as the horses finally reached the bottom of the seabed and slowed down, allowing her to look about properly for the first time, she acknowledged that her memories had lied to her about the beauty of the seas, of the resplendent, ivory underwater palaces and the diversity of the denizens that existed, hidden from the world of mortals high above.

"Admit it," Suigetsu's voice sounded too close for comfort, and she flinched, head whipping to the left to find his steed hovering beside hers. "These horses beat all of Sasuke's combined."

She tossed him a disgusted look. "Why'd you keep comparing everything to what he has?" she demanded.

"Oh, gee, I dunno," Suigetsu tugged on the reins. "Maybe because I'm trying to figure out what the fuck you ever saw in him to begin with? What does Sakura see in him? What does anyone see in him? Beats the fuck out of me."

Karin turned her nose up dismissively. "You're just jealous," she sniffed, as they galloped past a large school of exotic fish and entered warmer waters.

"Of what?" Suigetsu snickered. "The hell does he have that I don't? Besides the dead for company? That's hardly a perk. Least I'm free to chill on beaches near the water and shit."

"That I preferred to stay down there than live here," she sneered.

"Hah! You wish, bitch. Not my fault you're brain-dead. Some of the fish here have more sense than you do." He retorted snidely, nodding toward another cluster. "Check 'em out."

"Shut up. I'm not here on tour with you," she glared. "Let's find the hideouts and get this stupid mission over with."

"What's the rush? Scared you'll actually start liking the oceans again if we take too long?" he teased, waggling his eyebrows comically and offering her a toothy grin.

He was annoying. The most infuriating nuisance that existed in all the three kingdoms. In response, an irritated Karin tugged on the reins of her mount and dug her spurs into its side, urging it to move faster forward, doing her best to ignore the amused chuckles that followed after her.

---

~x~

---

"What's taking so long?" Ino folded her arms, shifting her weight from one leg to the other impatiently. "Shouldn't Sasuke have come to meet us by now?"

"Perhaps he is busy," Sai guessed.

"Doing what?" The blonde rolled her eyes. "What exactly does the emo God of Death do all day, besides brood on his throne, hate on the world, and lord it over ghosts? It must suck, being tied to a place like this, away from the sun. Maybe that's why he's so moody all the time. All this darkness is so depressing. Ugh. I'd be miserable, too."

"He judges souls," Sai supplied. "And oversees the safe passage of the dead to their final resting places."

"How does he manage it? I mean, the entire Uchiha clan used to run this place, right? He must have servants too, or something?"

"Yes." Sai nodded. "Charon is one."

"The weird ferryman? Have you ever spoken to him?"

"Only to give him a coin for passage across the river."

Ino's eyes widened. "Did you see his face? What does he look like?"

Sai considered. "His face was concealed. I once heard Danzo say that nobody has ever looked upon his face before."

"That's creepy," Ino wrinkled her nose. "Have you met any other servants?"

"I have only been by the river's edge, and along the route that leads to the palace entrance," Sai shrugged. He didn't add that he tried to spend as little time as possible whenever he was forced to visit the realm, knowing how unwelcome he was in general.

"Is the palace guarded?" Ino entertained the notion of sneaking into it, pacing left and right as the cogs in her mind turned. If Sasuke was too occupied to meet them, could Sai perhaps take them through to the palace directly? She was curious to see its finery. Surely with all the wealth he singularly possessed, Sasuke had to live in ridiculous luxury?

"I do not recall seeing any," Sai appeared thoughtful. "But I do not believe Sasuke requires guards. Perhaps there were guards back when the royal family all lived."

"I still can't believe they all got wiped out," Ino shook her head. "I remember we used to get visitors from the Underworld a lot." She recalled more carefree days and the lazy, sunny afternoons she'd spent hiding behind shielded, ornate garden screens and palace balconies, mischievously trying to catch a glimpse of the handsome entourage that accompanied the royal family on their journeys to Olympus.

"You... would see them?" Sai blinked.

"Yeah. They'd come up for meetings, attend our festivals or trade gems, supplies and food with us. But they'd never invite us down here. I don't even know if our King and Queen ever came here on special permission. It'd totally make sense if they didn't, I mean, the Uchiha were really secretive about-"

"Ino," Sai warned quietly.

She broke off, and turned - to find Sasuke slinking out of the shadows. As if he were forged of them, a regal prince of night and the alluring embodiment of everything dark and forbidden. He was clothed entirely in black, adorned with silver stitching that matched the jewelry of his diamond-cut earring and the rings on his fingers. Ino could definitely understand the appeal in his looks. She had fancied him herself and flirted with him often, long ago before the war. It was just a shame, she thought, that his personality wasn't anywhere near as attractive.

"Great God," Sai began to greet formally. "We-"

"Let me handle this," Ino held up a hand to him. "We don't need to flatter him or play to his royal ego." Directing her attention to Sasuke, she lifted her chin and declared, "I want to see Sakura. It was my idea to visit, so you can stop looking at Sai like you want to murder him, okay?"

Obsidian eyes narrowed at her words. The death deity offered no greeting.

"So where is she?" Ino looked around, searching for her friend expectantly. "Does she know I'm here? I just want to see her for a minute. You can spare her for one minute out of six months, right? I mean, I've got a letter here, but I'd rather see her in person. And you know what?" She put a hand on her hip, a distant part of her aware that she was rambling because she was nervous. Only a fool would pretend that Sasuke wasn't intimidating. That had to factor into the attraction Sakura had toward him. How unpredictable, dangerous and untameable he was. "I didn't come all this way to not see her, so if it's not too much trouble-"

"You prattle too much," Sasuke interrupted coldly.

Ino bristled. "I- excuse me?" She glanced at Sai in confusion, affronted by Sasuke's lack of manners, not realising that she, herself, had failed to begin the exchange in a civil way.

"Ah," Sai murmured. "I did mention-"

"Shut up, Sai!" she hissed at him. Then she looked back at Sasuke. "Listen, you jerk. The only reason I'm here is for Sakura, and since you're the reason I'm having to go without seeing my best friend for so long, the least you can do is-"

Sasuke blinked and gestured slightly with his right hand, and Ino froze in place, her heart leaping despite herself. What was he doing? Had she offended him? Surely he wouldn't dare harm her? Surely he wasn't about to throw her out without letting her see Sakura? A moment later, she was alarmed to find shadows closing in around her as a dark vortex formed at her feet, rapidly gaining momentum.

She shrieked, trying to leap out of it. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "What're you doing?!" She spun, desperately seeking out Sai, whose eyes had widened. And yet, to her horror, he did not move, did nothing to assist her.

"Sai!" She gasped out. "Help-!"

Before she could say anything else, she had been enveloped in darkness that blighted out everything around her and spirited off her feet. She was dumped unceremoniously on a pile of fragrant, beautiful purple blooms, and sat up in bewilderment to find herself in the most beautiful garden she had ever laid eyes upon, littered with exotic flowers and charming, wisteria-like trees.

"Ino…?" A soft, familiar voice called behind her.

Ino scrambled up to her feet and whirled to find Sakura standing amongst the blooms. She blinked, wide-eyed and stunned to see her friend dressed in the Underworld fashion, clothed in a flowing chiffon, blush-hued gown. Golden clasps fastened the shoulder straps together, attached to which were long cape sleeves that trailed to the grass behind her. Her hair was twisted into an elegant braid, crowned with an ornate head-piece of gold that matched the belt wound around her slender waist, the earrings in her ears and the gold bangles on her wrists.

She looked like a princess. She looked like a queen. She looked breath-takingly beautiful.

"Sakura...?" Ino choked out, realising that Sasuke had not brought Sakura to her - rather he had transported her to Sakura's location, in what appeared to be a completely private and secluded garden.

"Ino!" Sakura ran to her. Ino bolted forward in turn, hands outstretched. They collided together, throwing their arms around each other.

Ino's eyes welled with tears as she clutched her best friend close. "Ugh! Forehead! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Pig," Sakura returned her embrace fiercely, squeezing her eyes shut tight, throat clogging with emotion.

Ino then drew back, sniffling as she cupped her best friend's face. "Wow. Look at you! What a babe! Your hair. Your clothes. Those jewels! You look incredible!"

Sakura grinned. "You should see my wardrobe. I have enough shoes and dresses to change into something new several times a day."

"No way!" Gripping onto her shoulders as if she feared Sakura would vanish if she released her, Ino shook her head in disbelief. Then she scowled. "I can't believe that stuck up jerk! I thought he was about to toss me out! He scared the hell out of me with those shadows!"

Sakura stifled a laugh. The fact that the very same shadows Sasuke had used to give her such pleasure could be wielded as ruthless weapons sent a dark thrill down her spine.

"I asked him to bring you here," she confessed. "I really wanted to show you this place. I asked him to be nice."

"He wasn't," Ino glared.

"Sorry," Sakura winced apologetically. "People skills aren't his best trait."

"Want to tell me what is, besides being easy on the eye?" Ino muttered. Then she turned away to admire their surroundings. "This place is amazing," she exhaled. Was this truly part of the Underworld? She never would have imagined in her wildest dreams that beyond Elysium and its fields, such beauty was to be found in the realm.

"I never knew it could look like this. I thought everything was dark and depressing down here. I was so worried about you."

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Sakura smiled, content to watch Ino as she roamed around and began exploring the delightful garden. "I'd love to show you other places, too. A lot of it is dark and gloomy, and some places are scary, but... there's so much beauty here, too. Elysium and the Elysian Fields. Enchanted caverns, flowering fields and valleys, waterfalls and bridges, caves filled with jewels and diamonds. Underground mountains and all the animals that live here. And the palace, oh, Ino!" She gushed. "You can't imagine how huge and beautiful it is."

"I bet," her friend remarked dryly. "He's filthy rich. I'm glad he's trying to make it up to you by spoiling you. You deserve it."

"He is," Sakura affirmed, feeling her cheeks warm. Sasuke was tending to her every need. She wasn't wanting for anything.

"So what is this place?" Ino questioned curiously.

"It's my private grove." Sakura supplied. "We can talk freely here. Nobody will disturb us."

"Wait, what?" Ino's head shot out from behind the trunk of a fig tree. "Did you just say your private grove? As in, it belongs to you?"

"Yup," Sakura took a seat in the large, intricately carved wooden arbour, leaning back against the richly embroidered bronze, turquoise and gold cushions. "Sasuke gifted it to me."

"Seriously?" Ino gaped, wandering over to the wisteria tree. She reached out, touching its flowered canopy. "What for?"

Sakura regarded her thoughtfully. "He knows I like flowers. And I think it was part of his apology, too."

"Geez." Ino commented, incredulous. "What'll he get you for your birthday, an entire underground island?"

"This year he saved you and brought you back to me," Sakura pointed out. That had been the most precious gift of all.

"Smooth bastard." Ino reluctantly conceded. "And when you were here, last? What'd he get you again?"

"A bracelet he made. And Eos. My horse."

Ino shook her head. "Setting high standards, much? Where do I find a guy who gives me an entire garden when he screws up?"

"Sai paints pretty pictures," Sakura tilted her head.

"Ugh. Don't. That's not the same. Can you believe he did nothing when the shadows took me away? He just stood there and watched! When I needed help! What a jerk!"

Sakura smothered back a smile. Ino seemed to get so agitated whenever Sai was mentioned. It was an interesting reaction, and one that held all manner of implications - even if her dear friend wasn't ready to admit it.

Ino paused, then turned alarmed blue eyes back to her best friend. "Wait. Why didn't Sasuke send him with me? Do you think he's okay?"

"I only asked Sasuke to bring you here. I'm sure Sai's fine. He'll be waiting for you."

"With Sasuke for company?" Ino bit her lower lip, concerned for Sai's welfare despite her irritation at him.

"No," Sakura shook her head. "Sasuke's back at the river."

Ino stared at her. "You're here. How'd you know that?"

"We can talk," Sakura tapped a finger to her right temple. "Because of the seeds."

"Ah. Right. Silly me, I forgot." Ino approached her, taking a seat beside her. Sakura offered her a glass of ambrosia, and poured herself some fruit nectar. The girls then stared out at the tranquil sight before them in pensive silence.

"I'm so glad you're here, Ino," Sakura finally said. She had missed her terribly and had so many things to talk to her about. Things she hadn't been able to tell her own mother. Her heart was full, and she wanted to tell Ino about everything that had happened during her stay in the Underworld.

"Me too. But I can't believe I'm sitting inside the Underworld," Ino breathed.

"Do the others know you're here?"

Ino cringed, guilt flashing across her lovely features. "I… maybe might've snuck out without telling anyone and roped Sai into coming down with me." At Sakura's surprised expression, she raised a defensive hand. "I wasn't sure whether we were allowed to visit, okay? And I didn't want Naruto and the others tagging along. I just wanted to get a letter to you. I didn't actually think Sasuke would ever let me in."

"You can visit," Sakura assured her. "Anytime you like. Sasuke's fine with it."

"Is he, really?" Ino snorted. "With you looking as hot as you do right now? I don't think he'd be too keen on us all showing up daily and sharing your attention."

Sakura bit back a giggle. "Maybe not daily," she admitted. "But every now and then. My mother already visited, and he was okay with it. But we met in Lady Chiyo's hut." After a pause, she said, "How is everyone else doing? Mother said you're still looking for the hideouts?"

"It's been quiet. The High Council grounds are the safest place for us to be. Still no luck on the hideouts. We're counting on Suigetsu to find them, because they're nowhere on the surface. We've almost finished searching the entire map, and nothing."

"Just be careful with Suigetsu," Sakura said. "He likes to play games."

"Oh, he'll behave. Killer B lent him Samehada while he works with us and if he messes up, he loses it. You know boys and their toys," Ino rolled her eyes.

"And how're things with you? How's Shikamaru?"

Ino looked down at her slender hand, resting in her lap. "I finally spoke to him. We've decided it's better to stay friends."

Sakura's eyebrows arched. Ino was giving up on him? "What?" she said in confusion. "Why? Ino, you've been crazy about him forever."

"I know. I thought I was. But… we talked over things. And I feel like it's the right thing to do." Her friend insisted. "I'm the one who got all carried away, and he let it drag on because he didn't know how to break it to me without pushing me away. He was afraid all along it'd ruin our friendship. That he'd lose me completely if he told me the truth."

Sakura listened intently as Ino sighed and went on, "It's just like I thought. He doesn't see me that way. It's my fault for not realising it sooner. I figured, we've known each other forever. If he'd wanted to take things to the next level, he wouldn't have waited this long to do it, right? But it's okay. He respects me for who I am and that means the world to me. We're family. I'm okay with it."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, placing a gentle hand over her best friend's.

Ino exhaled slowly. "Yeah. I've thought about it a lot, and made my peace with it. We understand each other now, so much better. You were right to tell me to speak with him. It's like all our misunderstandings were cleared up, and this huge weight is just off my shoulders, you know? I'll always love him. He'll always be important to me, and I want him to be happy."

"He does love you, you know," Sakura squeezed her hand.

"I know," Ino agreed. "But that's the thing about love. It has many forms, right?"

"Right," Sakura gave her a small smile.

"Some goddess of love I am," Ino's lips pursed together. "It took me this long to understand that. You'd think I'd recognise it for myself."

"You did," Sakura comforted her. "You just thought it was a different love. And one day, Ino, you'll find the love you need. I think love comes to us in the forms we least expect it."

Dark eyes flashed across her mind's eye as she thought of Sasuke. Her heart skipped a beat. Love? When had it become that between them?

"I guess." Ino shrugged. "But anyway, whatever, enough about me. Have you been coping okay?" She took another sip from her drink and eyed Sakura. "I mean, you look really good. It's like you're glowing with happiness."

Sakura gave her a small, cheeky, bashful smile. "I am happy," she admitted, rearranging her skirts and pulling her knees up to her chest. It almost felt wrong to speak the words aloud, as if she wasn't meant to be experiencing contentment at such a troubling time, with so much at stake and the ever looming risk of her own existence terminating before Sasuke awakened the crow's eye. But she was full of happiness. Her heart was singing with it.

Ino's gaze zoned onto the rosy tinge to her friend's cheeks with intense interest. Her lips parted and she set her glass aside, straightening as she turned her full attention to Sakura.

"Wait a minute... I know that dreamy, loved up look! What's happened?!" When Sakura's grin merely widened, she gasped,"You better fill me in, right now, Forehead! Details!"

The words spilled readily from Sakura's lips. She was bursting to confide in her best friend. "Oh, Ino," she gushed. "So much has changed. Sasuke and I are-"

Ino leaned forward, azure eyes as round as saucers. "What?" she breathed, already knowing the answer, and yet she felt the need to hear the words spoken aloud regardless. "Sasuke and you are what…?"

"We're…" Sakura bit her lower lip, before disclosing shyly, "together."

"Together?" Ino echoed. "Wait. Wait! How together? Together as in first steps, or kissing, or like, all the way together-together?"

Sakura felt her blush intensify. "I mean," she answered, lifting one shoulder up awkwardly. "Together-together."

Ino squealed loudly, leaping to her feet in excitement. "Sakura Haruno!" she cried. "You're sleeping with Sasuke?!"

Sakura's cheeks burned. She had to remind herself that nobody else could hear them, that it was fine for Ino to be as loud as she wanted. She hadn't expected anything less than a spectacular reaction from the girl who was akin to her own sister.

"When did this happen?" Ino demanded. "I can't believe it! You little minx! Wait. Scratch that. I can. You two have history. But I hope he realises how damned lucky he is to get another chance with you again." She sat back down, grabbing Sakura's hands. "When did this happen? How many times? Out with it!"

"Just recently," Sakura couldn't keep the smile off her lips. "Twice."

"Twice?" Ino gasped. "How was it? Was it good? What's he like in bed?"

Sakura flushed a deeper shade of scarlet. "Ino!" she admonished.

"Oh, c'mon, Billboard Brow," Ino waggled her eyebrows. "We're grown women, right? I need to know. I never got it out of you in the past, you were always too hung up over him. That pent up, frosty exterior? He's gotta be fire in bed, right? Right?"

In response, Sakura bit her lower lip again, and they both dissolved into girlish giggles.

"He's…" Sakura exhaled, shaking her head. She had no words to accurately depict how mind-blown she'd felt at the end of both occasions, wrapped up in Sasuke's arms, panting to catch her breath after he'd rocked her entire world. Quite literally.

Ino's eyebrows arched. "That good, huh?" She smirked. "Royalty, rich, handsome, powerful, great in bed." The traits were ticked off her fingers as she listed them. "Maybe I'm starting to see why you might overlook his terrible social skills."

A part of Sakura was almost tempted to tell Ino all about the pleasurable gifts he had at his disposal - but she thought better of it. That was personal to her and Sasuke, and besides, she liked it being their little secret.

"By Olympus!" Ino was going on. "No wonder you're glowing. I can't believe this. Does your mother know?"

Sakura's smile waned. "I think she kind of expects we have something going on, but… I never spoke to her about it in detail. I can't exactly tell her that we're… you know."

"She'd have a heart attack," Ino agreed. "But you know what? The most important thing is, you're happy, that it feels right to you, and it's what you want."

"It is," Sakura nodded. "I didn't think I could ever adjust, and I know it's only been a few months, but time passes differently here, and everything's changed between us. We've gotten so much closer. I feel like we finally really understand and accept each other and have put things behind us for the better. He doesn't shut me out anymore."

"Uh huh," Ino raised an eyebrow at her, a teasing smile twisting on her full lips. "That's one way to put it, right?"

Sakura gave her a playful push. "I'm serious. Things are different now. He's attentive and kind to me. He's been lonely for so long, Ino. He really lost everything. At least when I'm here, he doesn't have to feel so alone."

Ino gave her a long, serious, searching look. "Well, if he's really changed, that's down to you, Sakura. That's what love does. It changes people, for better or worse. Guys don't make changes unless they're serious." She sighed heavily. "It's hard for me to forget and forgive how much he hurt you. And I hate that for six months, you're not with us. But… I know he cares about you and he's serious about keeping you safe. That's enough for me. If he's what you want, then I hope he deserves you, and he spends every damn day making you feel like the queen you are."

"Thanks, Pig," Sakura smiled warmly at her, touched by her words.

They talked on, with Sakura explaining what life was like for her. Ino listened in fascination to her recounts of a world she had never before seen with her own eyes, save for the garden that stretched out around them.

"Wow. It really does sound incredible," she admitted. "Nothing like what I imagined."

"Maybe I can show you the palace, someday," Sakura said.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Aren't you being a little ambitious? It's a miracle he let me come here. There's no way he'd ever invite us inside his palace."

"Well, maybe not right now..." Sakura conceded. But she held out hope that perhaps, one day, in a far off, hazy future, a future removed from the threat of Cronus and their enemies, Sasuke would eventually permit her friends to freely enjoy the wonders of his realm.

"Can you imagine if Naruto came down here?" Ino glanced at her in amusement. "He'd drive Sasuke nuts."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled fondly. "I miss that knuckle-head."

"He's doing okay," Ino assured her. "He's been learning how to use Hiraishin. Also, his thing for Hinata? Couldn't be more obvious, now. They're inseparable."

Sakura smiled, thrilled for both her friends. It was about time. She then filled Ino in on the details of her last attack. Ino listened in concerned silence as she explained the buffer that was Shisui's chakra, and how it had afforded her extra time.

"That means the next attack you have…" Ino shook her head fretfully. "Sasuke has to have awakened the Rinnegan by then, right?"

"Yeah," Sakura answered quietly.

"What if that doesn't happen? I mean, you said he went through all those terrible things when Cronus had you on Olympus, and the Rinnegan still didn't appear?"

Sakura's expression was one resigned with acceptance "Then I guess I'll really be in trouble."

Ino scowled. She didn't want to dwell on an outcome she hoped would never come to fruition. "Don't say that. He'd better know what he's doing. If he messes this up again with you, I swear I'll rip his heart out, even if it's the last thing I do."

"He's trying his best," Sakura defended. "The Rinnegan's a complication he didn't know about. But Naruto lent him some of his Kyuubi chakra, and we think the last stage isn't far off now."

"Let's hope so," Ino sighed, and leaned in close to wind an arm around her best friend's shoulders. Resting her head against Sakura's, she murmured, "It's been boring without you, Forehead. But I'm glad I got to see you. I'm glad you're safe here, that he's respecting you and treating you right. I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks Ino," Sakura wrapped her arms around her, embracing her with affection.

"If you're spending time in places as pretty as this, then I guess it's not as terrible as I was afraid it'd be," Ino conceded. "I was worried you were lonely and locked up in the palace. But Sasuke pretty much lets you do what you want. You have flowers and stars to look at, even if the stars aren't real," she turned her eyes to the Underworld sky with its illusion of constellations, twinkling mysteriously in the pitch-blackness.

"This is probably the safest place you can be in for now. Safer than being on the surface with us when everything's way too quiet. So as horrible as everything that's happened is? As much as I hate it? Maybe parts of it were a blessing in disguise. At least we know you're looked after here."

"I have a bad feeling about that," Sakura said. "The enemy's been too quiet."

"We've got our guard up," Ino reassured her. "We know they've got to be plotting something big. I just hope they don't harm innocent civilians to get to us."

"I wouldn't put it past them." Sakura frowned. "Be careful out there, Ino."

"Don't worry about me," Ino grinned. "You just focus on your shadow king. Get that number up to at least fifty by the time you come back to us."

Sakura pushed away from her. "Ino!" she laughed.

Ino met her embarrassed gaze and gave her a cheeky wink.

---

~x~

---

Chiyo sprinkled a handful of dried herbs into the iron cauldron suspended above the hearth and watched as they dissolved into the thick, bubbling liquid. A deep frown settled upon her brow as her keen mind turned with heavy thoughts, overrun with the burden of profound, clairvoyant knowledge that she was duty-bound to keep to herself.

It was a most trying and dreadful role, the one she served. To be bestowed with visions of the future, to share a direct link to the terrifying, enigmatic entities known as The Moraie themselves, appeared to others to be a great boon. And yet, she had no control over which visions she received as a servant of The Fates. Often the scattered premonitions were random in their nature and a struggle to piece together to form a larger, clear picture. She could not contest destinies, could not warn others of what tribulations loomed in the horizon and was powerless to intercede and prevent events from taking place.

She simply watched, waiting for preordained affairs to inevitably transpire, or acted at The Fates' instructions to ensure that a decreed destiny fulfilled its calling. She had to allow situations to unfold before she could discuss them with any parties involved. But that did not mean she was incapable of making her own preparations - so long as forbidden knowledge of the future was not shared with others.

Such was the case with the concoction she was mixing at that moment. A preparation for a future occurrence.

Lifting the large wooden spoon out of the mixture, she brought it to her lips, meaning to taste the brew - when her arm suddenly froze as a premonition, a call from The Moraie themselves, flashed vividly across her vision. It was all too brief, and yet, unmistakable in its origin. The three voices in her mind that echoed as one passed like a sighing breeze, a formidable storm in her head.

Hecate's eyes widened at the words they spoke, their decree reverberating in her conscious thoughts. Deafening. Decisive. Absolute.

"Hallow'd Sight the Eye awakens,
Bound to chaos and forsaken,
Shadow born, is shadow made,
Receiver of Adamantine's blade."

The wooden spoon fell from Chiyo's hands, clattering loudly to the stone ground.

---

~x~

---

Author's note

Thank you for your patience while I was on break. Expect a new chapter roughly every month or so going forward. I can no longer update several times a month as I was doing before. With the end of lockdown, work and social commitments simply don't allow it, which means this project will be dragging out for a bit longer than planned, but the end is finally in sight.

See you next update.