Minor spoiler: Ino (the blonde handmaiden from ch.3 who played the plum blossom song with Sakura and Izumi) is finally named in here in case no one figured it out. :D

We haven't once had a moment between the two girls in here, so here we are, and about time.

This chapter was harder than its predecessors, and I have a feeling that by the time I am done (halfway done by the feeling), the rest of the story will also get harder, but always worth it!

Also, I miss reviews from everyone. R and R when you're done reading! :3

Chapter Seven

Misty Moon and a Bundle of Joy

That night was a fierce thunder and rainstorm in one.

She left summer blossoms along with pink roses at Sasuke's epitaph, and there his brother was to do the same. Finally did they talk and she gave him a piece of her mind.

"What did His Royal Highness need of you now?" Ino, her blonde inferior but greatest friend since girlhood, asked her as she was making way for the chief lady-in-waiting's private room after making sure the princess was well. The air was humid and moist that they had to fan themselves. "I was considering we both compose a verse about his and mistress' newfound connection since her life was endangered and her great-aunt dying."

A song would just make the prince return his attentions back to HER again, or so she thought. "I'd rather not speak of him," Sakura said, closing the fan and pushing aside the screen to go in, her friend following.

Ino nodded, sitting across from her so they were eye to eye. Her expression was hard. "You never once told me anything about him, but I can see it all as your dear friend: you turned him down when he tried to get you to be his mistress, perhaps before that Konan woman." That was Ino to be blunt sometimes, but often was she subdued and had to be careful lest she invoked an important man or woman's wrath.

"...you're right. That's exactly what happened," the rosette answered. "And you'd think he'd come against my will. But thank the gods no one is speaking about it openly - or have you heard anyone behind my back?" She was referring to the other older and younger girls, of course.

And as she guessed from the back of her mind, no one breathed a word. But that meant nothing. "They're still waiting for me to lose my step and fall."

The blonde sniffed, picking up her flute she would leave with Sakura, choosing to play out of habit, but sometimes a good tune came out of something random. "They are, but they don't know you as well as I do, Sakura. But enough of them and please tell me your thoughts about Prince Itachi." Then blue eyes glinted. "It makes me happy that you resisted that man. I don't know if I could do that -" A blush on her cheeks began as pink and darkened to red with the last words. "- and I certainly know other women won't be able to."

Now...how do you talk about someone who was noble but desired YOU when you weren't his wife - who also happened to be someone you served and who trusted you in return?

"I think he sees something in me just because I connect him to his brother. But that says he is somewhat still living in the past; recently, I insisted he start to let go so he can live in the present. I even HAD to tell him why it couldn't be between us..."

Don't tell her about that night he removed your garments. A little secret won't hurt for once.

Ino was ashen when she was done speaking, then sputtered in hushed undertones in case they were being spied on. "My gods, you might have put him at a distance, which I am proud of you for...but something tells me it has only enflamed that want all the more. I heard some of the girls talk about how doing that makes the man desire you more. I loathe to say it, but the prince might only fight it off so much."

Sakura hitched a breath, and opening her fan did so much to calm her grating nerves. If that was true, that meant Itachi might respect her wishes, but he harbored his need for her and must be suffering for it - but if that were true, too, then she had to ask about his wife's well-being he oversaw. It had to be love, which was said to last longer than passionate need.

She tried so hard to convince herself he was over her after everything, that they were only acquaintances.

It would be two days later that she saw IT when she was informed that the prince was stricken with a mild cold or something, since it didn't appear to be terribly contagious, but it called for her hands alone.

What she gave him from the palace grounds which wasn't rare like most worked wonders on him, and he was well again before the end of the month. When he took a sip of the fresh tea she brewed him, before all the watching ladies - some sneering and wishing for the Crown Prince to say something that would get them talking - he looked up at her and smiled, softly thanking her for saving him even if it weren't life-threatening.

"You're a blessing to us all, Sakura." Then his attention hardened when he looked upon the others who were blushing. "I hope the lot of you realize how lucky you are to have her help YOU as she does to me, my wife and many others."

The women seemed stunned that the object of their fantasies had spoken to them the way he did, and regarding the fact it involved her whom they envied for no good reason. Sakura had to avoid looking at them again and returned her attention then on him when she took the teacup from his hands...and then she made the mistake of locking green eyes with his black ones.

The look in Itachi's orbs were the exact opposite of his promises, as Ino had said...and damn her heart as always against her strength!

~o~

The summer progressed well into dry, arid days as the final month began - and the news she received was the talk of the day when her daughter, her precious Aoi, came to her so they had mother and daughter time.

"Mother, have you heard the talk? They say that Princess Izumi is..."

Just when the winds outside couldn't blow any harder than they were tonight despite the humidity. And she had to deal with the fact the girl was too...young for such duties at the Dàshé Shrine in Ame, which was currently at peace and in need of a new high priestess since the previous died. Konan didn't want these responsibilities to befall on her child even though she believed Aoi could do this.

And going to Ame means...leaving Konoha.

Which meant leaving Prince Itachi, who was now expecting his first child and heir with his wife. Which was also why the widow and renowned poet lost motivation to call upon romance since he all but stopped calling upon her...not even to enjoy her company for the sake of it. She'd even ceased love stories altogether for fear of causing further pain to her heart.

She fell to her knees, picking up the mirror and scowling at the face which stared back at her. If only he could have told her himself he didn't wish to see her again, and THEN she would give up on him!

The incense she always used was a means to calm her down, but sometimes her frustration would be so great that she needed a drink of wine. This would be after Aoi was tucked in by her hand; it was getting difficult to keep her emotions from the young girl who knew how to sense her mother's unhappiness.

"The incense I requested the other day has yet to arrive," Konan snapped to the maid who came at her order. "Send another request at once!"

When the poor girl was gone, she was left alone to the poem of heartbreak which reflected her own broken...

It's natural that Princess Izumi bear his child, for she is his wife. It was meant to happen. It's not for me to complain about, given I am a mother myself.

But Itachi...why won't you tell me yourself instead of leaving me like this?!

Without that kind smile and passionate disposition, Lady Konan was losing her will to live.

~o~

Itachi was kneeling before the water pond of the palace, looking down at his reflection as he could hardly contain his internal happiness he never thought would come.

After four years, he and Izumi were finally going to have a child.

His grandfather who seldom displayed such merriment even said this: "For a man of my years to be granted a great-grandchild - it's truly a gift from Buddha!" But would you live longer to see its birth...?

Prayers were being said before the Buddha's statues as well as fires surrounded with paper tags etched with mantras - all for the safe delivery of the prince's child. And not only that, but there hadn't yet been anymore attempts on his wife, though she was not yet allowed to return to her residence but would instead remain in the Imperial Court until the delivery of her baby which was said to be due in the middle of next spring.

He could hear Sakura's music without words being played in the distance, as her means to celebrate her mistress' pregnancy - and it was the most beautiful song he ever heard. The sun played a part in the tune, along with the stream's carefree flow.

Eventually, there was a banquet at the Imperial Palace to celebrate the announcement of the princess' carrying of her first child. Lively and full of nobles from the Oosutsuki, Miyazaki and other families, there was never a dull moment - and Itachi found himself on the stage with four other young men, giving a dance that caused the men to have envy in their eyes, given they could never hope to master his grace and fluidity...

...and despite the knowledge that this was for his unborn heir, many noble women watched him from behind their respective screens. Only to admire and not have within their grasp.

On this night, the moon was misty and the air gentle for a change.

He and Izumi were on the porch outside their shared room, looking up at the beauty in the night sky when all settled down, but the smell of incense and lingering bonfire smoke was subtle and present. She leaned back, inhaling and sighing as well as breathing the new poem which carried her words up to that vivid circle far above their heads.

"Not shining and yet not covered by cloud - on a summer night, the misty moon is beyond compare."

To gaze upon her fair face reflected by the light of the moon, Itachi could have sworn he was put under a spell - HER spell. And I feel like I am going away because of the excess of wine, not in the mood for anymore passion than there has been. But it was not the kind of passion he referred to which made that child she was now carrying.

He reached out, placing his palm on the middle of her body, trying to imagine how she would look when the child would grow.

His action seemed to take her by surprise. Her hand came to rest over his, stemming a brief spark that didn't diminish nor grow into a flame.

...I love her. I love her more than physical desire can bear. This means there is so much more than just unbearable fire that would go out when it ran its course.

It also meant he had been so wrong to keep her at a distance for fear of his own sanity and soul...mostly his heart. She was here, they were finally having a child together, and she was protected in his arms. "This is all I ever needed," Izumi whispered, looking deep into his eyes with a brighter star twinkling in hers.

And for him, this was all he needed, too.

The Obon Festival - the event in which the dead and the ancestors were honored and remembered - came and went, and that was also a time for him and his grandfather to send prayers and leave gifts for their family in the afterlife...which did include him speaking to his dead brother with his heart: there is a new happiness in my life that I wish you were here to see it, Sasuke. You and Mother and Father.

His wife and Sakura were there to do the same to their dead loved ones, and it appeared Izumi had a brighter glow about her despite the fact Aunt Kazue wasn't here, either.

Life still had its way of playing a cruel hand in taking loved ones who deserved to share joys left to be experienced.

Summer eventually would give way to the autumn season, and in that time, his wife would experience morning sickness which often had him worried. After that, the real cravings for different foods would begin - and the outrageous things they would be which would make you laugh and sick at other times!

It was at this time of the month now that the moon would be full, at its highest...and yellow to the point of resembling the fields of gold in summertime, as well as the grasses in the harvest grounds. During that same day, the leaves would change into majestic colors of red, brown, orange and even yellow-gold. It would be here that the rain would falter and leave everything dry, which was a small relief.

During the night of the yellow-white moon, there was susuki grass on display as well as white sweets fashioned to look like the moon itself. And there was nothing Itachi loved more than sweets. So did the mother of his child as well as her cherished friend and lady-in-waiting.

~o~

She made her resolve to see Itachi herself whether it was against protocol or not. Before she left for Ame with her daughter - who was in the cart with her - she had to make closure once and for all.

I can't keep living with these feelings, when he is far away from me now. He won't call on me, so I choose to go to him.

Unfortunately, the carriage never reached its destination, as she could hear the commotion going on outside which frightened her daughter who held onto the maid. The shout back to those ruffians, whoever they were, came from her chief guard: "This carriage belongs to someone of high rank!"

"And just who...wait, I remember your face. You're with the Nagato Palace. In that case, your mistress must be inside." There was a scoff. "If Lady Konan should know, then the mistress of Prince Itachi should obey and move aside!"

Mistress...

Her world began to whirl like chaos descending...and it collided just as the carriage found itself on the verge of tilting off its path to the side, because someone knocked into it on purpose, no matter who she was. She was the widow of a high-ranked nobleman, but these damned fools wouldn't care that a young child was inside and with her mother!

But Konan's whirlwind mind was spinning: I am over a decade older than he is, and I am his MISTRESS.

And I mean nothing in the end. I am nothing but a target for the other side to treat with scorn now that he is done with me...

If only we could be together FOREVER.

~o~

How DARE they treat Lady Konan with such violent disrespect?!

Her carriage was coming to the Imperial Palace, but no one would say why, and she never got to complete her journey before she was forced to stop - because someone viciously knocked the carriage over...with a little girl inside, it was eventually revealed. Her daughter.

Itachi was calm outside, but inside, he was seething. He hadn't even seen her for months, only to eventually figure out on his own she intended to see him, but then a gang who supported him and his wife - they are nothing more than lowlife thugs - prevented Konan from going further. He was sure that she would return to her residence as soon as the cart was repaired.

In the time being with his wife, he felt intense desire subsiding on its own, but that did not mean he didn't care for the blue-haired woman. The woman who lived a quiet life, hadn't appeared in court in months for even a poetry contest, was reduced to being shoved aside because of what she was now, and he was sure of that. For that, he was mostly to blame.

"I must go and apologize to her myself," he told Shisui that same night. "After all, she may appear to be full of confidence, but she is actually a very delicate and...sensitive woman."

~o~

"MY LADY!"

Despite the joyous occasion which was Princess Izumi happily preparing for the birth of her first child - about damned time, too! - Sakura and the other maids found themselves horrified at something you didn't see every day.

Izumi's eyes had gotten wide, she couldn't speak and only gasped in horror - before her entire body fell backwards...no, it was thrown backwards where it knocked the scenic painting to the floor, and she just laid there, staring up at the ceiling with those eyes which were still broad as the full moon. She continued to gasp for air, and that was when it dawned on Sakura that it could be that THING which had pursued her at her mansion.

That ghost...

The princess was seriously ill, physically now - and that meant her unborn child could be at risk. Sakura hissed and swore to everyone else, even shocking the ones who sneered at her long enough, that the monks had to increase their prayers if they wanted this evil spirit to be exorcised from their lady.

Throughout the night and day, sutras and prayers were chanted as many expensive medicines were given on Emperor Madara's orders, and Sakura willingly helped the physician give them to Izumi.

Though, it appeared that even the herbs and powders were temporary, thus finalizing the opinion of the exorcist that it was indeed the mysterious spirit. All the while, Izumi continued to suffer and whimper, which grew to worry even her husband who often came by her side and demanded if there was something he could do.

Sadly, there was nothing.

It bothered Sakura greatly to see him troubled, when she would often go out to the gardens to get some greens to stir up her works even if it was futile, but something was better than just sitting by and allowing things to worsen. She heard that he could barely eat except once at night and drink mostly wine and sweets during the day, which was extremely unhealthy. Someone had to put him in his place, try to ease his worries.

"She'll be fine, Itachi." Though Sakura doubted her own words. After looking around to make sure no one was looking - or spying - she sat down on her knees beside him, looking out to the calm waters and the bridge above, as well as the colors of autumn, radiated by the sunlight surrounded by only a few clouds. The least I can do is just console him - and myself.

"...I wish I could believe it with all my heart. I don't wish to lose her the way I lost Mother, and then Sasuke. Because my mother..."

Sakura knew what he was going to say: his mother died after giving birth to his brother, so she understood. It wasn't uncommon for some mothers to...lose her life during or after childbirth. She didn't want the morbid subject to make her think the same would happen to Izumi, because it shouldn't. "If we just keep praying to the Buddha and hold onto each other, she and the child will both make it," she swore, feeling emboldened now, and he looked at her now with a smile as confident as she was now.

This time, his smile and his hand coming to hold onto hers, thanking her even, wasn't so bad for once. It was comforting.

The winter which came soon after was cold and wrought with the harshest blizzards to the softest of snowfalls. Many were confined to their homes and ventured out only in times of emergency. But when it would all be over, then first the cherry blossoms would be in bloom, and it was her favorite time of year. Standing beneath her favorite spots...

...but then sometimes, from a distance, she would see the prince standing across the bridge, watching her but not doing anything, and ever giving that warm smile as he liked what he saw. No traces of smolder present, either, but there was an underlying sadness. Because she was certain he still thought of this cherished season of their people a faraway memory because Sasuke died during their time. The flowers she was named for represented how short precious life was.

That doesn't mean there is no fun to still be had.

Dare she add that Itachi was sad because his dear Izumi couldn't be out of bed to come out here with him - or both him AND Sakura - to enjoy these sweet sights?

It was amazing how time flew by, and yet it didn't ever feel like it. During that entirety, Izumi's condition remained the same, and she was confined to bed much of the time. Sakura and Ino would be by her more than the other ladies, brushing her hair and doing most of the errands - even playing music for her - and Itachi would come to enjoy the show as well as spend time with his wife and talk about the five-petaled blossoms which didn't have a scent like the ume but were nonetheless radiant.

Now the season would pave way for its middle, when Princess Izumi would finally give birth...but then people began to talk more than ever. Sakura heard them as she would go about her business, gritting her teeth. Commonly was this: "It seems the princess is possessed by a malign spirit - someone who is holding a grudge over her...someone like Lady Konan whom the prince hasn't called upon since learning of his wife's pregnancy."

Lady Konan...the legendary poet who was his mistress?!

Why did it not surprise her in the slightest? If it were that woman, then the explanation had to be what the Buddhist monks called a "wandering spirit" or something. Where the spirit left the body temporarily to go about and inflict harm upon other people, or linger in places.

Now the fear began to claw at her heart; she couldn't even stop it - and later that day, the screams of her mistress reached her ears and the other ladies'. They gathered around her in a flurry in time to see her laying sprawled about, the pillow block out of its place, and her black eyes dilated as she wailed the great pain.

Someone shouted for Prince Itachi to be summoned at once, and even his grandfather managed to make it in time to witness the horror of the childbirth that had finally come...and there was no question the malicious spirit was present to take pleasure in her torment. Emperor Madara could be heard bellowing for more prayers and seals.

The water was brought in to cool the lady's brow, even allowed her to drink, but sometimes she nearly choked on it, and it appeared she threatened to tear her poor husband's hand off, which made Sakura laugh sometimes. At least there was only a little humor allowed.

By the time the first hour of the ox was at hand, the newborn's cries pierced the air and could have awoken the entirety of Konoha.

Dàshé - "serpent; mythical eight-headed serpent"

Obon is a festival in Japan which honors the ancestors and the dead. Tokyo today celebrates it in July while the rest of the country does it in the middle of August, usually for three days. I couldn't find WHEN it originated, because the Heian period hasn't mentioned it anywhere, though the Edo period was known for it, and so I figured it might not hurt. :)

The "wandering spirit" is also called Ikiryō("living ghost"), and in "Genji Monogatari", Lady Rokujo becomes one due to her great pride and jealousy that she subconsciously killed Genji's wife Lady Aoi as well as attacked his true love Murasaki. It was also said that after her death in the Noh play adaptation of the story, when she died, she became a vengeful spirit (onryō) and haunted Murasaki. In modern times, this wandering condition could be termed as an "out of body experience".

The "hour of the ox" in Japan means between one and three AM.

Lovely reviews appreciated! :D