Title: Fire Burn

Summary: Part three of Bubble, Bubble

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"Soul Baring," Tsunade begins speaking, "It's the most important and intimate step of any Match."

Sakura fidgets with the red taffeta of the dress Ino had let her borrow. Her heart races at a million beats per minute, her finger trembling as she waits in front of a large and ornate onyx door. It starkly contrasts with the white of the rest of the school, making it seem even more intimidating.

"Red is worn to symbolize the merging of your souls, your bodies, your blood. You surrender yourself completely to your partner: physically, mentally, and spiritually," the headmaster continues, her voice calm. "Every emotion, every secret is laid bare for the other."

"What if we're not ready though," Sakura begins. The ritual had been explained to her in great detail by Ino, having turned 18 and undergone the ritual a couple months prior. She spoke of the deep connection that resonates upon Baring, how many of the partners end up actually going all the way in the chamber.

"That sounds freaking weird," Sakura had said.

"I know it does now, but once you get to it, you'll understand," Ino responded. "Even though Sai's gay and everything is completely platonic with us, things still got pretty physical just because of the emotions of the whole thing."

Sasuke barely even looks at her since she got pulled into his mind months ago. They've participated in class together and put on a show of pretending to be a proper Match, but in their private lessons he always does all the work, forming the illusion that Sakura is participating.

"Nobody ever feels ready," Tsunade says, pulling Sakura back to reality. "Besides, it's tradition to complete it on the 18th birthday of the youngest of the two."

Sakura's heart plummets, over her time at the academy she's learned how much tradition is valued at the school, there is no breaking it. Today Sasuke, the younger of the two, turned 18.

"Now, Sakura Haruno," Tsunade lights a lone red candle and places it in the girl's hands, "You enter the chamber as one half to a whole, you shall leave complete."

The black door slowly swings open, the ceremonious words having been spoken. Taking her cue, Sakura places one uneasy step after another, until she is through the doorway. Without a sound, the door swings shut, enclosing her in what feels like her tomb.

The room is longer than she expected it to be, black granite covering the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, save for the pure white pool resting in the center. Perspiration gathers on her forehead from both the nervousness and the warm air wafting around her. Her eyes dart between the numerous black and white candles lit around the room, trying to avoid meeting the face of the only other inhabitant standing opposite her.

"Sakura."

Her name bounces off the walls in the deep voice that she both loves and hates. She often had dreams of it intoning her name, except in them it came out husky and full of emotion, not clear and dull as it sounds now.

"Look at me," Sasuke says, causing her to finally rest her eyes on him. He's dressed head to toe in a pure black suit, save for the red piece of cloth that sticks out of his front pocket. He's beautiful and terrifying all at once.

Through the silence of the room, the terrified scream that she heard all those months ago echoes in her thoughts. Sasuke, please don't kill me!

She looks away from his dark eyes and strong features, resting her gaze on her own bare feet instead. She had been ripped from that dark doorway, that prison that housed the memory before she could see anything but the darkness lingering in it. Just that terrified voice echoing in her mind. She hadn't spoken to anybody of it, not because she didn't want to, but because she was too terrified to voice her thoughts. What if her Matched that she was destined to be one with, really was a murder?

The shuffling of fabric prompts her to look back up at the man of mystery that keeps haunting her. He's placed his red candle at the edge of his side of the pool and begins removing his jacket and his shirt.

Sakura blushes as she remembers the instructions. Baring yourself to your Match includes actually physically baring yourself to them. Placing her candle adjacent to Sasuke's, she reaches behind and begins unzipping her dress. Her fingers tremble so much it's hard to properly grasp the small piece of metal, but somehow she manages and her dress drops to the dark floor.

She stands there for a moment, in just her bra and underwear, staring at the figure in front of her. She eyes follow the toned muscles and the smooth skin, remembering how it felt under her hands that fateful day Ino gave her the ribbon, those soft lips that had danced down her neck.

His face is blank, but his eyes burn as they lock on to hers. Slowly his hands travel down to his boxers and he begins pulling them down. Sakura mimics his moves with her own underwear, never breaking eye contact with him.

Once fully naked, each takes a step towards the clear pool of water. The water sloshing as they slowly descend into the water. The moment her chest descends into the cool liquid, she begins to feel power and emotion flow into her. Anger, betrayal, vengeance, passion, they bubble within her and she knows what is happening.

"Once the water is above your heart, you'll begin to feel your Match," Tsunade had told her previously, "All of his thoughts, his emotions, his power, they begin flowing into you and vise versa.

Powerful, that's how she begins to feel as she approaches the center of the pool, closer to him. He signs, as if the weight of it all begins to lift from him. His guard drops, but only for a moment and she's able to see herself through his eyes. He's filled with her confusion of this life and of him, her hurt due to the way he's treated her, her fear of what she saw locked away in his mind.

Just like that, his walls are back up again, his feelings begin to drift away along with overwhelming sense of power. He turns away as if to walk out on her as he's done so many times before.

Anger begins bubbling within Sakura, not his but her own. She refuses to let him walk out on her again. With all the boldness she can muster she grabs his arm and begins chanting the spell she had to memorize for this occasion.

The water surrounding them begins to glow a blue hue, casting a bright light in the otherwise dim room. Ever so slightly, she sees Sasuke's eyes widen marginally before he joins her in the incantation. With both of their joined voice the blue glow turns to a brilliant white, an almost blinding brightness. Surprise flows through the water and fills her body as he opens himself up to her again. She moves a palm to rest on his cheek, her face focused on his as she begins traveling through his corridor of thought once again.

She runs through it trying to reach the end as rapidly as possible while her physical body moves closer to his chest, his arms coming up and resting on her shoulders. Their mouths no longer move, but the foreign words of the spell continue to echo around the room in whispered voices.

Her mental self reaches the end where the three large black doors had been, however, this time it is different. Hidden in their looming shadows lies a fourth door, smaller and less impressive in structure as if this memory seal had been made rapidly. It lacks the blackened symbols of the others and without even a touch, the door opens to her.

"Sakura." The word reverberates in his mind, a pained grumble as his barriers begin to fall.

Stepping into the room she's instantly assaulted by all of their interactions upon her arrival, but this time from his point of view. In the beginning he views her as weak; a vulnerable and silly girl that understands little of this life. However, in the more recent memories his attitude has completely changed. It has grown into a protective sense, a need to give her something he was unable to with his former Match.

His distance is clear to her now. He's been separating himself from her not because he wants to, but to prevent her from getting trapped in the tangles of his past that had caused Karin death. Underneath it all is a sense of affection and admiration buried deep within his need to stay distanced from her. He's seen a level of power in her that he didn't think possible.

Back in the physical world her skin grows hot and she realizes the pool has begin bubbling, growing hot with their ability and emotion. Steam billows around the room evaporating off of their bodies. She's pinned against one of the white edges as Sasuke's hands wander all over her body, feeling each inch of her. His lips are pressed against the side of her throat, his eager tongue lapping at her pulse.

Sakura's head spins, when did he even start kissing her? When did her hands end up clutching to his shoulders, pinning him against her, terrified he might let go at any moment. Between the part of her that's going through his mind and the part of her that's now gnawing at the soft spot beneath his jawbone it's hard to keep track of everything. She turns from the room that locks away his affection for her and turns to the same black door that she had stumbled into what feels like centuries ago.

The marks shift once again and she steps through hesitantly. It's a blur, flashes of red and dark shadows.

She hears the hiss of a snake before she sees it. A large black python slithers slowly and dangerously in an ash drawn pentagon. Various incantation media lie around the room, a bowl of raven's feather, a swirling pendant, and locks of dark hair.

She watches as her hands grip a knife and her body walks towards the snake. She tries to stop herself, but she's no longer in control, she's a bystander, observing the events of the path through Sasuke's eyes.

She kneels, words coming out of her mouth that aren't her own as she plunges the knife into the python's head feeling the sickening crunch of its skull. Its body begins twitching as she pulls the knife down the length of the snake, stopping halfway.

"Karin, I'm ready," Sasuke's voice comes from her mouth. Her head turns and she notices the red haired girl for the first time. She adjusts her glasses nervously, the shaking of her hands betraying her emotions. Yet she doesn't question anything, obediently coming forward with burning dried dandelions in hand. She waves it in the air, summoning a vibrant spark before stuffing it in the belly of the disemboweled snake.

Sakura still grips the knife, heavy in her hand and dripping with blood. She lays her other out to join with Karin's firmly, her skin cold despite the warmth of the room.

"Are you sure about this?" the redhead finally asks, her doubt getting the best of her. Sakura doesn't hear Sasuke's voice again, but her head does a quick jerk of a nod.

Karin is the first to begin chanting, her voice slowly rising with more power as Sasuke's joins in. They continue, and Sakura feels the emerging power building between them. It's intoxicating, like lava has been injected in her veins.

The belly of the snake bursts into flames and they keep growing taller and taller as the couple's chanting continues. The shape of a figure begins to appear in the fire, growing taller and taller. Eyes burning deep and menacing red stare out at her, from the dancing heat.

She wants to continue staring at them but her head forcibly turns and her eyes shut. Her body rises of it's own accord and the knife suddenly feels too heavy in her hand.

No, she silently cries in her mind. She knows what's going to happen next. No!

She tries to back out of the memory, tries to get back to the dark room, to the pool, to the real Sasuke, but she feels trapped.

"Sasuke?" The other girl's voice questions, "What are you doing?"

Her breathing comes labored, her skin too hot. She can't decide whether she wants to open her eyes or keep them closed and face what her partner has done. She braces herself for the agonized scream, for the feel of the knife plunging into the innocent girl as it did the snake's skull…

But it never comes.

Slowly, she opens her eyes, her nude body shaking and alone in the now frigid water. It's dark now, the candles having been extinguished at some point when she was trapped in the memory, but the water remains slightly illuminated. She wants to call out his name, but the echo of Karin's terrified voice stops her. So instead, she just looks around in the room.

The dripping of water behind her catches her attention and she turns to see Sasuke hastily gathering up his clothes and pulling on his boxers.

Her arms come around to cover herself suddenly self-conscious. "Sas-"

"Don't," he cuts her off, his tone as cold as the water. "Just don't.

Keeping her eyes on him, she lifts herself out of the water. As she beings pulling on her dress, he speaks again.

"Nobody has exited this chamber without completing the Baring Rites," he shakes his fingers through his hair, dashing droplets onto the slowly hardening wax of the melted candles.

"So what do we do?" Sakura asks, her voice trembling from embarrassment and anger. Her mind not yet deciding which emotion is stronger.

"Lie," he replies curtly before exiting the room, leaving her alone in the dark with her thoughts.