Akrasia

There was no harvest festival for Sakura that year or the ones that followed, Tsunade had said that until she learned to control her powers it was best to stay in seclusion and on the practical side of things Sakura could understand that decision. If her emotions were particularly passionate one way or the other they tended to translate into physical results. Joy or delight and the world around her burst into life, trees that shouldn't have flowers grew them, where she stepped small blossoms popped open.

The real trouble came from anger or anxiety-fissures would form as the ground quaked due to the grasping vines pushing their way through the earth and although several planting seasons had passed she still couldn't seem to target what they reached for. That was probably why Ino was currently side stepping a rather grabby little patch of greenery. 'Still, I don't see why I can't leave this place at all.' She'd become much better at controlling herself over the years.

The part of her that was ruled by emotion said something very different. Normally Sakura would be allowed to travel alongside her mother and Shizune but ever since returning from she'd been more or less grounded. 'It certainly feels like a punishment.' Or that could have been her guilty concious at play.

"There is no way that she knows so stop that!" Ino did not find playing a game of tug-of-war with the end of her dress and Sakura's vines to be enjoyable in the least. 'Though I suppose it's better than being whipped by one.' as improved as Sakura's control was, there was one subject that never failed to shake it so it was easy to guess where her thoughts had wandered. "You played a board game and kissed a man on the cheek. It's not like you did something that would make a temple prostitute blush."

"Ino!" Hinata sputtered from her place at the banks of the river, hands thrown over her face. Although in her opinion the actual events were bawdy enough without the colorful commentary.

"Oh please, you think just being looked at by a man is enough of a reason to turn into a puddle." Ino waved a hand dismissively at the other oceanid. "The real issue here is that she doesn't know who he is."

Sakura didn't think that made things sound any better to Hinata's ears. "I know his name!" She interjected, feeling slightly insulted. "I just don't know his other name."

It was probably the millionth time they'd been over things and the conversation almost always ended the same way. "Not that it matters since I am never going to see him again." It was a little upsetting that she'd missed him several times over and she hoped Hiruko didn't think badly of her-if he'd shown up at all. Unbidden the melancholic sigh escaped her.

Sakura missed the knowing looks her companions shared.

"I don't suppose you'd like to practice your needle work?" Hinata offered, though she knew what the answer would be.

Waggling her fingers with a frown, Sakura shook her head "I'd rather not, I've had about enough with pricking my fingers open over the last few days." She'd yet to master the art of embroidery unlike Karin. "But I think I'd like to replace the flowers in my tent." The heliotropes and daffodils were beginning to wilt after being picked weeks ago.

"The same ones as before? Or something different?" Hinata spied some Morning Glories-they could easily be twisted into garlands and hung.

With the shrug of her shoulders Sakura ambled further from the water. "Something different, I'll know it when I see it." A child, that was exactly how she was being treated between being left behind like she was in some sort of time out and the spells that ensured she couldn't leave even if she wanted too. It was beyond her current ability to unravel or break through the barrier Tsunade had constructed. 'I am more than old enough to be married and if that's the case I don't see why I can't travel on my own.'

Although she probably wouldn't want to travel by herself even if she could. It would be rather lonely without a companion of some sort. 'Its not like I'm going to cause a catastrophe, I have things under control.' more or less, usually. Sakura's steps were quick and agitated, putting distance between her and her more leisurely strolling companions who had stopped to converse in low voices. By the time they looked up her pace had put her far from sight.

The valley was a beautiful place though Sakura hesitated to call it home no matter how long she'd been in residence. The winds were mild, the warmth of the sun was at her back. High flying birds with trilling songs filled the air as she moved but her eyes were on the ground having caught sight of something glittering in the dark of a gully she was passing by. 'What in Tartarus…' She knew every inch of the area and the last time she had passed by there had been no mysterious shiny things days before.

Curiosity piqued she slid down the ravine, soft moss below cushioning her bare feet. The trench she found herself in went on for some ways and was rather wide, around her the walls loomed large and only a few shafts of sunlight found their way into the cool shade. The thing that had been shining in the dark was not lit by any one of them but seemed to have a light all its own.

Sakura had never seen such a flower before and she was somewhat of an expert on the subject, the one she was now face to face with was no bigger than the palm of her hand and shaped like a camellia blossom. Transparent petals and as dark a red as the wine Jiraiya created. When she went to touch them they were hard and smooth, lacking the subtle striations she would have expected. 'This isn't organic.' and the fact that it was a construct was made more clear when she pulled it from the ground and the stem was gold.

If she had been a little less naive Sakura would have been wary about messing with it but even as she questioned where it had come from and why it was in such a place she noticed more of them glittering further ahead in different hues, ranging from red to crystalline white. By the time her arms were laden with several of them she felt it, the shifting of stone and earth as loose pebbles skittered down the walls and across the ground.

Shadows grew longer and seemed thicker, swallowing up the already sparse light, the sense that something was fell over her and when she turned to climb out the way that she had come Sakura saw that the very end of the hollow was blacker than night, as though there was a massive hole in the hillside that wasn't there before.

For a moment Sakura thought that the pounding going through her body was her heart speeding but the notion was dismissed when she saw the heads of the coursing beasts rearing out of the darkness. They moved like horses, they were shaped like them too but even in that moment of horror she could tell they weren't made of anything fleshlike and they were pulling a chariot behind them. Her eyes darted to the figure in black robes at the reins.

Divinity meant the closest she could come to death was being torn to pieces, a state remedied by being put back together again but that durability didn't stave off pain or the chances of a permanent crippling but even in her earliest days as a goddess Sakura had been wary of chariots and it had only grown worse when she'd been pitched out the back of Naruto's during an ill advised joy-ride. Falling several hundred feet through the sky had completely ruined them for her.

'I need to move.' She knew it but her limbs were hesitant to comply. The baubles she'd been so distracted by tumbled from her hands, chiming as they fell and like the breaking of a spell Sakura found herself moving with sudden swiftness, grasping a handful of roots and hoisting herself over the was nearly out, all except one damnable ankle and that was all it took. A hand closed over it and yanked her down even as she kicked out against the grip.

The thing about chariots was that they did not have a lot of spare room for the rider or their companion and the current one was no exception. Sakura was trapped between the driver and the rails, the sharply turning horses threatened to throw her over the side if not for her current captors arm restraining her by the waist.

They were covered completely in black cloth that dripped down their head. 'How can they see anything, much less steer?' Sakura glanced from them for a moment, trying to figure out an escape that wouldn't hurt her too badly but in doing so she realized the turn had been. Because the driver aimed to go back the way that they came-into the dark, gaping chasm.

There was only one place they could possibly be headed and her stomach plummeted, hands shooting out to grab a fistful of the black material. "Let me off!" But they didn't say a word even a Sakura pulled, even as the daylight faded and the opening closed behind them like a wound knit shut. They traveled so quick that in what felt like a moment the only light she had was from her own shining.

Fists full of cloth and panic setting in Sakura tugged violently and the robe gave way, hitting the rushing wind with a sharp slap. "Y-you?" She choked over the word, thoughts stumbling at the sight of him. His hair was a mess between the wind and being rubbed the wrong way but Hiruko looked the same as she last saw him.

Recalling the major and minor deities of the underworld was pointless, there was really only one who would do what he'd done without fear of reprisal. "Hades?"

Infernal mischief gleamed back at her through his eyes in affirmative and Sakura felt like a complete idiot, which in her opinion was even worse than being carried off. 'Hades the Unseen One, stern and cruel.' unpitying, her mother had said of him.

"Hiruko, stop this thing now." The anger simmered beneath her skin as she tried to wrest the reins from him. They were getting closer to a wall of swirling fog and the nearer she got the more unsettled she felt, like icy spiders crawling down her back.

"I suppose I should mention that my name is Sasori."

That turned out to be the last straw. Between the fear and the confusion and now being told that one thing she thought she knew of him was a lie there was just one thing left to do.

Sakura punched him in the face.

An action that probably hurt her hand as much as it hurt Sasori, the force of it made his head turn and his eyes go wide. In retrospect assaulting the person holding the reins was not the best course of action, it only served to solidify her already firm belief that chariots were the worst things ever invented.

Sasori recovered from the blow in the blink of an eye, grabbing her by the wrist just in case she decided to go in for a second strike. Sakura would have none of that, still fighting for the reins that were held just out of reach.

"Sakura."

She mistook the warning in his tone to be about what she was doing and not what it was actually meant for-the turbulence he expected when crossing the border between two realms.

Breaching the fog rocked the craft violently enough to make Sakura lose her footing and go face first into one of the rails. There was a burst of pain that radiated all across the left side of her head before she slumped, distantly aware of hands cradling her face that were not her own as the world became a series of fragmented sensations.

There was the feeling of being carried, the warmth of another body chasing the cool away and the far off sound of murmuring voices. In one lucid moment she could hear her own voice, "This is why I hate those things." Sakura mumbled, face pressed to something that smelled of myrrh and ancient, dark roots. There was an answering hum that reverberated through her body pleasantly.

Sakura woke later, in a bed of soft sheets curled against something solid and blinking through the last haze of sleep. Looking up she realized the thing she'd been cuddled up against was Sasori, her head pillowed by one of his arms and the other thrown over her waist. "Hir-" No, that wasn't even his name. "You!" She corrected sharply, prepared to pinch, or better yet kick him if he didn't respond. So far he'd lied to her, kidnapped her and now he was crawling into a bed with her.

'The last thing I need is for those sorts of rumors to start about me.' Going from nigh obscurity to being the subject of lewd rumours was not the notoriety Sakura could or would appreciate.

"How's your head?"

"Fine, no thanks to you." The response was as terse as she could make it as she met his eyes-he looked far too self satisfied for someone who was in as much trouble as he was and hardly apologetic. "Let me up." The hand at her waist didn't hesitate at all to slide over her hip and along her thigh.

"I would but I'm sure you're aware of the problem now." The problem being that at some point during her slumber Sakura had thrown her leg over his hip. Thereby ensuring that the two of them were locked together, her abdomen pressed flush against places she had tenuous knowledge of at best.

Heat crawled up her neck and Sakura, as quickly as she was able moved to the furthest reaches of the bed, as if distance would make her embarrassment less. 'If that's the case I need to go to the opposite side of the earth right now.' but she'd settle for the attainable.

Sasori on the other hand was perfectly content to stay stretched out like some shameless feline, though he did heave a sigh at her scrambling away. "You never mentioned you were afraid of chariots." She'd complained about it vocally in her more lucid moments.

"Well you never mentioned that you were a no good kidnapper who lied about his name!" batting at the sheer cloth that hung around them hardly made her feel any better. " What is wrong with you?!" Better to not look at him, Sakura decided to focus on the room beyond the curtains-or what she could see of it like the braziers that burned with eerie blue fire and the high arched ceilings. The room was cavernous and she could only make out the larger details from where she was, none of which included an exit.

"I can think of a few things…" Like the distance between them. "But mostly that I yearned for your company." Sasori said it easily, but the words didn't seem to appease her. With the jerk of Sakura's head he was gifted with a rather surly glare.

"It's called visiting, it's a lot less…" Her hand wrangled the air as if it was keeping her from the right words. "Whatever that mess was."

Sasori snorted. "It was perfectly necessary. Your mother despises me." It'd been hard enough just tracking down her whereabouts, Tsunade's barrier had been designed to keep Sakura in and anyone undesignated out. According to Deidara right after the 100 year celebration she's essentially disappeared, an uncommon thing since she was seldom separate from her mother or the dark-haired one.

Even her childhood companion-Naruto, someone Tsunade generally liked, was being treated with cagey regard from the harvest goddess after offering his golden lyre as a bride price only to have every string snapped and the rest thrown into the clouds. 'Frankly that's something I would have enjoyed seeing.' Naruto was not actually the adept musician mortals made him out to be. 'Though I suppose I should be appreciative.' it was by that same idiot's vocal complaints that he knew where Sakura was and of the intense warding.

Apparently Naruto had been blown a few hundred kilometers away when he attempted to walk through.

The underworld which spanned the whole of the earth and deeper still with its caverns and tunnels like veins made a workaround possible for him, the title of The Unseen had many meanings though the moment Sakura breached the boundary Tsunade was likely alerted to something being amiss. 'It's far too late for her to stop what's already begun.' Even if Sakura was currently cross with him.

Sasori was of the mind that since permission would never be given by her mother then there was no point in asking and he had even less interest in being forgiven for something he wasn't sorry about. Tsunade would throw her fit but even Minato would not be so quick to act.

It was rare that a great enough number of them agreed on anything and he didn't need The Fates to tell him where allegiances would fall. Jiraiya would align with Tsunade. 'And Orochimaru will fall with whatever cause brings the most chaos.' Minato would desperately try to keep mortal lives from being ground up between competing interests. ' a foolish thing when they breed and die like gadflies.'

"She wouldn't if you hadn't been so inflexible." Sakura accused, having heard the story a million times; her mother begging and pleading for the soul of her lover and being denied. It was long before her time but the gods loved nothing more than gossiping and dredging up the past. Being as close to him as she was suddenly felt like a betrayal and so she threw aside the curtains to make her exit, stepping onto something soft like an animal hide before meeting marble that was cold enough to make her shudder.

Sakura wandered through the room aware of the gaze that followed and paused to admire the painted fresco of a tree that dominated one of the walls. Every leaf and bough in perfect detail down to the birds nestled within. Her admiration ended when Sasori came too close and she moved through an archway, surprised to find herself on a balcony.

"Is your next attempt at running away going to come in the form of throwing yourself over the edge?" Whether he was amused or exasperated remained questionable.

From her current vantage point Sakura could only assume that the palace of Hades had been built or carved into an outcropping that hung over the whole of the Underworld, at the very center of it or so it felt. From the view on high she saw what she assumed to be Styx, gleaming like a long thread of silver in the gloom and Phlegethon, bright and glowing red as it spilled ever down. There was a spot where the two seemed to meet and a great outpouring of steam rose and created clouds above. [1]

"If she told you the story then you must know she lost a bet. There is order in all things and something of value cannot be gained for nothing." When it came to feelings no one, not even the Gods ever wanted to hear about balance and order-and on a personal level his reticence to bend the rules had less to do with either of the two and more to do with his hatred of lessening his collection.

Sakura actually had not heard that there had been a bet involved and the mention of it had her head turning. "What?" It was well known to her and everyone else that Tsunade was a gambler and most often not a very good one.

"Oh, I suppose she wouldn't tell anyone about that part." Of course Sasori had already known the bet would be in his favor when he'd made it, knowing full well Tsunade would fail to meet the conditions but it was hardly his fault she'd been so full of doubt and mistrust. "All she had to do was hold his hand all the way out of the Underworld, she let go." A deal was a deal.

"And I'm supposed to trust a lying kidnapper's word?" Sakura's hands found their way to her hips as she turned her back to the view.

There was a shrug in response. "Every story has multiple sides."

"And I believe this is the part in our story where you return me."

It absolutely was not. "Where is your sense of adventure?" Sasori teased, leaning against the rail that kept anyone from taking what would presumably be a very long, unpleasant fall.
Sakura's sense of adventure and innate curiosity were the entire reason why she was where she was but he'd planted a seed and could see it take root in her eyes. "How many Gods have seen the underworld for themselves?" And mortals who had seen the Underworld and come out of it simply did not exist. 'As of yet.' there was always the future.

'Well, when he says it like that…' It was easy for Sakura to forget that if she had stayed human her ultimate destination would have been where she stood now. 'Or somewhere here If it hadn't been for Mother…' It'd been so long since Sakura had ascended that she couldn't even recall what her mortal parents looked like having lived more of her life without them than with. 'Several times over to be exact but they're somewhere down here... Do they think of me at all?' Maybe it'd been so long for them they no longer remembered either.

Obito liked to tell the worst stories of the realm he frequently traveled to and that was where most of what Sakura knew about the kingdom of the dead came from. "They say that this place is awful."

A wry smirk told her most of what she needed to know about his opinion on the thoughts of others. "It can be horrible." Sasori admitted, pushing away from where he'd been leaning to grab Sakura's arm and quickly spun her to face the view once more. "But it's not without its beauty. As it is above, so it is below." his hand lingered, the world above wasn't so different, sometimes he thought it was even worse; always changing and impermanent. His sphere was of stability and inevitably. "And It would be amiss of me not to point out that the moment you go back you'll be locked down even tighter and for who knows how long."

'And that would all be his fault.' Sakura thought almost spitefully, but as it turned out she was not very good at holding a grudge against him. It made sense to her why he felt the need to give a false name when his own carried so much weight. 'It's probably impossible to be judged for himself.' She could forgive him that but being run down by a chariot was less understandable. 'Not only that but he clearly baited me.' Those wrought flowers had been a trap and likely been trampled into nothing. 'A shame because they were beautiful.'

...And he had done it all because he missed her. 'He used the word yearning-Fervently enough to go against mother's warding.' something she knew to be no easy feat. So yes, Sakura found herself to be quite flattered but she also recognized that Sasori had a very valid point. 'As soon as I go back It'll be the same as it was before.' if not worse and the more Sakura looked about the more curious she was. "And how do I know I'm not trading one cage for another?

"As clever as you ever were." The way that he said it almost sounded like cooing to her ears. "I'll vow it on Styx, As soon as you wish I will return you up above," A loophole was always a necessity in his opinion. "Circumstances permitting of course."

Sasori called her clever without mockery, Sakura was bright and she did seize upon the caveat with narrow eyes. "Circumstances permitting?"

"I might find myself tied up in some business or another, It may not be possible for me to drop it immediately." Sasori explained because while she was smart Sakura never really expected the worst out of others. It left her rather vulnerable to underhanded methods.

Several moments were spent debating amongst herself because while she didn't want anyone to worry Sakura also knew the moment they knew where she was it was very likely she;d be forced back without any sayd. 'If I'm going to be punished it might as well be for a legitimate reason.' her head nodded before words ever made their way forward. "I leave when I want to." She said, whether it was to reassure herself or remind him was left unconsidered.

"Of course." The hand that had yet to release her arm slid down over her wrist, reminding Sakura of the last time she'd seen him-When he'd held her hand much the same and she'd been feeling gutsy enough to kiss him. 'Well, it was barely that.' Ino said it was basically nothing, no different than kissing some relative though it didn't feel that way to her at all. She didn't get stomach flutters when Jiraiya hugged her. 'Ew.'

Something clicked and she found herself blinking at the foreign weight encircling her wrist. There was a golden scorpion with its tail tucked beneath its chelicerae locked around her limb, pinprick rubies in place of its median eyes and different colored gems where the laterals were meant to be. "Sasori…" it was the first time she'd used that name and it sounded rather threatening through gritted teeth.

Whatever warning lurked within her tone was ignored at the sound of his name from her lips. "Is it wrong to give a gift? A terribly useful one at that. As long as you wear it you have free reign to go where you please-with two exceptions," he denoted them with his fingers. "The first being Tartarus. As a dungeon I'm not sure why you would want to visit but if you do it will have to be by my escort. The second is the main entrance, where souls come through. Getting beyond it is impossible and those three take their job very seriously." As he demanded.

"You're going to let me travel alone?" Even up above she was expected to be in the company of others and the only time she'd broken that norm was the week she'd snuck around to see him and most of the time Sakura figured she had only gotten away with it because even the ones who were usually responsible and straight laced were drunk by the third day. 'Including Shizune.' The dark haired woman suffered a massive headache for several days after as she recalled.

"For the most part." Sasori tapped the back of the scorpion. "No one should bother you." But if they did he would know. "And you do have to be back around noon each day."

"How do you even tell time down here?" Her eyes turned towards the Underworld's Firmament, or what could be seen of it despite the steam clouds rolling and drifting against it, the parts that could be seen from the light that reflected from Phlegethon glittered like stars In a black void.

"The tide of Styx rises at dawn to meet Phlegethon and falls at sunset. We're an hour past daybreak now." The amount of steam would grow throughout the day and petter off as they approached night.

That meant she'd slept for a day after whacking her head on his stupid chariot. "What if I travel too far to make it back by night?" Sakura had not expected him to explain by guiding her line of sight with a hand at her cheek to face what she presumed to be north. Like a sword stabbing through the earth she could see the white spire even from their great distance.

"There are five more of those; White will bring you close to the Gates of Horn and Ivory, emerald to the Gate of Dawn. Obsidian to the Gate of Dusk and amethyst will take you to the Gate of Shades and ruby will return you here." Sasori ran a finger over each of the gems that lined the carapace of the bracelet, turning her wrist as he went. "All you have to do is focus your power into the corresponding one." It was simple enough. "Perhaps you would prefer a horse…"

Sakura snorted. "Not if they look anything like the ones you have. Do you want to give everyone who sees you riding about nightmares?" They'd been more twisted roots in the shape of skeletons and glowing sinew then anything, with smoking hooves and shrieking whinnies. "I think my feet will suffice just fine...and thank you for the gift." Though she wasn't sure where to even start her expedition

Sasori would have preferred to stay with her but he'd already taken one day off and a realm hardly functioned effectively with an absentee ruler. 'And time is something I have plenty of.' There was no such thing as getting ahead of his duties when they were endlessly multiplying but he did have a quota he liked to meet. "I'll send servants up to show you around the palace grounds and help you ready for the day." Hopefully they would convince her to wear sandals because there were many places with rough terrain beyond his residence.

"That's really not necessary, I can do things myself." Despite being a Goddess she had always considered herself more...earthy and self sufficient than most due to the constant traveling. Sometimes they stayed in a wealthy village or a temple but more often than not Sakura cleaned her own clothes and slept between Tsunade and Shizune.

Arguing over it would have been a waste of time, the servants would be around whether Sakura wanted them or not. "There is one more thing." there was just enough space beneath her skin and the bracelet that his thumb could caress her pulse.

They had been standing close together since he'd followed her out to the balcony but Sakura all at once felt hyper aware of the limited space between the two of them and the odd charge that sluiced over her skin. "uhuh?"

"It's been on my mind for a while," Sasori had wondered on occasion if she had forgotten as though it meant nothing. 'If that's the case she'll have to be shown otherwise.' His nose trailed the curve of her jaw and Sakura's thoughts just seemed to scatter about like seeds to be sown later as she struggled for words to say.

Only Sasori wasn't interested in words and that was abundantly clear when his lips slanted over hers, firm, insistent and completely different from the one she'd given him ages ago. As if to solidify that a hand slid over the back of her neck, in a way that made her gasp as heat washed down her spine. There was the swipe of something wet and hot against her own tongue as the hand that wasn't holding the rail in a death grip blindly gripped at her skirts for want of something to hold.

And then there was space and air to breath again when he pulled away, thumb brushing her parted lips. "Yes," Sasori sighed, taking in the stunned expression with pride. "As I thought, much better." There was another quick peck of his mouth against hers and then he was strolling off to his responsibilities. It was a part of his vindictive nature, upping the ante and walking away.

"W-what?" Sakura asked the empty space. She very much did not know what to do with that and found herself wishing Ino were around. "He can't just do things like that!" it wasn't wholesome or appropriate at all. ' Alright, so none of this is.' it was bad enough she was basically a runaway for the moment but there were limits and she wasn't willing to throw all propriety out the window just because something felt nice. 'I mean just what does he think we even are?'

That led Sakura to asking herself what she thought they were, pacing back and forth in sharp turns.'I don't feel like that when Naruto or Sasuke are nearby.' so maybe they weren't friends but if they weren't that then she was at a loss as to what Sasori should be referred to as. She lost track of how many times she'd turned about but around the 30th she realized she wasn't alone.

"Greetings." Two pairs of eyes as black as pitch stared up at her and Sakura was reminded of the seafaring creatures that liked to lay out on the sun warmed sand of beaches. The duo were no bigger than children and dressed in deep blue cloth.

"That one is Skia."

"And that one is Selao."

"We're sisters."

They spoke in tandem even pointing at one another as they introduced themselves. There was hardly a difference between the two of them with skin as white as bone and hair like ashes from the hearth. The only distinction between them was the cut and length of their hair. Skia's was cut short in the back while Selao's was left long and double braided.

"Hello." Sakura had never been particularly good with servants and attendants-she had a hard time with comporting herself as above humans for that matter. 'I didn't get where I am by merit, I haven't done anything spectacular. It was just by fate's design that this is my lot.' and since that was the case she never felt above anyone.

'Meanwhile just about everyone else I know is smiting this or that person.' of course sometimes mortals thought they were being targeted when it was just an unfortunate turn of events. "I'm…" Kore, Persephone or the name closest to her heart, the one given at her birth. The problem with having so many names was that sometimes she floundered with how to introduce herself.

Selao's mischievous grin revealed the tiny sharp teeth that laid within her mouth, liquid black eyes gleaming. "We know." her hands were deathly cool when they grasped Sakura's own. "Come along." she urged, pulling the goddess along with surprising strength for someone so small.

Skia followed behind with a more tame smile than her sister's at Sakura's befuddled expression. Previously Sakura had only gone from the bed to the balcony, but beyond that there were three more attached rooms; a sitting area with couches and cushions arranged about a low table laden with food and drink.

A distant recollection washed over her, something Obito had once muttered about avoiding anything grown from Hades. The exact words were hard for her to recollect but to ere on the side of caution she avoided touching any of it even when offered. 'I don't need it.' Not yet at least, lack of food would not kill her though too long and things might become unpleasant.

Neither of the sisters pushed the subject as they proceeded on to the next room, which by comparison was rather sparse. A multitude of stacked boxes and several larger chests cloistered against a wall and a mirror. What truly drew her attention were the wrought flowers spilling out of a vase. They were no different than the ones she'd happened upon up above.

"Our Lord has said that this room is yours to do with as you please." Selao intoned, plucking as the sash that helped give Sakura's dress some form and color. "You look as though you've crawled out of a grave." She was speaking mostly to the dirt that had become embedded in the once pristine cloth during her failed escape. 'But her hair is not much better.' Whatever flowers had once been there were crushed. How shocking it was that Hades, who disliked mess had left her as such and even slept beside her. 'But then what of this isn't unlike him?' He had always been cold and austere but with his gifts and his plans it seemed he'd found an exception.

"Perhaps a bath?" Skia was already working a comb through the pink strands after deftly kicking Sakura's ankle watching her fall into a seat with amusement.

"If I'm going to be wandering around all day I don't see a point."

"Before bed then." The two spoke at once before Selao threw open one of the chests to procure clothing for the day. They were exceedingly quick in their work, a fact that they took great pride in even when Sakura squawked indignantly about being undressed by cold hands and moved about like a doll.

Restored to some measure of splendor Sakura thought she would be given some reprieve but then two began to debate over accessories, offering up box after box as they debated the merits of each.

"Does he make a habit of this?" Sakura questioned by the fifth box, completely overwhelmed. Each piece she saw was beautiful but the question of why taunted her. 'I mean who has riches just piled up in a back room for some visitor to make use of?' Trinkets for women to be specific.

In the end they decided on a chain of golden leaves for her waist, recognizing that their charge's patience was reaching a limit. "What do you mean?" Skia turned from fetching some footwear, the wrinkling of her mistress's nose told her that her pursuit on that front had been pointless.

"Of bringing women here…" maybe the items were on loan and had been owned by someone else at one point. The thought suddenly made her itch to be rid of it all.

The two of them shared a giggle. "No." And they left it at that.

"The elm where false dreams cling is quite a sight." Skia supposed she should offer a bit of guiding advice when it came to sight seeing.

"I think Lethe is better."

"You say that because you like to push the shades into it when they take too long." Selao didn't deny the accusation and by the flashing of her maw Sakura believed it to be true.

"If I wanted to find someone how would I do it?" Sakura questioned, her thoughts from earlier returning now that she'd resolved herself to deal with Sasori and his...everything later. It was pointless and sentimental of her to be wondering about people she could barely recall and some dark part of her questioned if it would hurt Tsunade to know if it-she didn't wish for that. 'But still…'

Selao paused her endeavor of restacking the carved boxes in their proper order "Depends on who you are looking for...but Hekate can find anything! She's been here forever…" It was said that she had taught Hades all the old ways before humans had even walked the earth, before he had been king. "She resides between Mnemosyne and Acheron." Closest to the Gate of Dawn but not too far from the Gate of Shades.

Sasori had told her which spire corresponded to each stone, but she wasn't sure of the rivers beyond Styx and the flaming one. 'Acheron is where Charon ferries the dead.' Her thumb found its way to the amethyst as she thought. "And that means its closest to the shades.' Drawing from the well of power that lurked in intangible places Sakura focused it into her hand and through the stone, surprising her attendants when they blinked and she was completely gone.

"We should have mentioned that Hekate attended judgements…"

[1] Essentially the meeting of Styx and Phelgethon is what creates weather in the underworld. (in this universe)

The underworld has five rivers, the most prominent being Styx, the River of Hatred. It's the river the gods swear upon, the river that could make humans invulnerable like Achilles. Phlegethon is the river of Fire and Blood that pours into Tartarus. Acheron-The river of Pain is the one that Charon ferries the dead across to be judged. Lethe is the river in which human souls wash or drink from to forget their living lives and be reincarnated but there is a body of water called Mnemosyne which could restore memory and grant omniscience. The final river was Cocytus, the river of Lamentation which fed into Acheron. The thing about "places" in greek mythos is that they were often also Gods/Godesses.

Greek Mythos is weird, more on that later.

Skia-A shadow, a reflection
Selao- A Shine.

They do not exist in any mythology, but the closest you can come to them would be Lampades, Underworld Nymphs. I picture them as having teeth like a microbat and sometimes they chitter at one another in a language no one else really understands and they're just rather eerie.

It's lateeee and I'm sorry. I had a major cold and then I had to go panic buy supplies for elderly relatives. Funny how I get over being sick just as the world begins to descend into chaos. My place is well stocked with toilet paper just sayin.

I advise everyone to NOT do what people did during the bubonic plague and start panicking, dragging the pestilence all over the place in a vain attempt to avoid catching it. Wash your hands, do your due diligence but above all please remain calm.

Honestly this stupid chapter was just not being cooperative so I had to beat it with a stick. Actually a good portion of my time was spent trying to figure out underworld geography, how I wanted it to look in my head and all that good stuff.

General rule is that the longer it takes me to release something the harder I am grappling with it…
Or I died.

Looking at it now I'm pretty sure this thing will end up being longer than 5 chapters. I guess it depends on how much stuff I decide to bring up while writing. Can you guess who is who in the underworld? You might be surprised at who shows up where. Sakura is a very naive dunce but it's mostly not her fault and we all love her anyways.

Most of the "Fun" stuff that happens in Greek mythology comes AFTER Persephone and Hades are married. The Iliad for instance, or Sisyphus getting rekt and certainly Orpheus and Eurydice plus that whole two idiots sneak into the Underworld and try to steal the person it's King values most.

Did some minor editing on the last chapter because when rereading I noticed stupid mistakes. I'm hoping to have either a chapter of Turning Crimson or Stupid with Love out before/on Sakura's Birthday. -being ambitious-

If you see any glaring mistakes this chapter post it so I can feel less stupid when I inevitably reread over my own writing to remind myself how awful I am. That being said there seems to be an issue with PM notifications, so if you're wondering why you haven't gotten a response for someone it might just be that you DID and is broke.