Indra took a deep breath as he unfurled his map hidden in his traveling pack, willing himself to ignore the random small bouts of giggles from the woman bathing in the stream from behind the boulder he sat from. A man who has lived in lavish can only last so long without a good bath, and apparently Sakura is as adamant to wash off the dirt and grime from their travels as he. He had already finished bathing from his side of the boulder and had opted to study his map again while he waited. The pink-haired woman had found a way to tease him once more, much to his displeasure. Though he was not entirely opposed to her proposition to bathe at each side of the boulder to shield one away from the other.
"I do warn you to not act like a voyeur like the last I bathe, Indra, or else I will smite thee." As if to prove herself, she lightly tapped her fist on his head before giggling and turning to her side of the big rock. As much as he wanted to retort, she had already escaped him.
Both of them knew that what happened was an accident, and their actions had been justified as self-defense (him) and to preserve their dignity (her), yet Sakura still continues to tease him of being a pervert. The first was an accident! As if he has any intention to look at her bare form again- or any woman's bare form at that. He assumed it all looked the same underneath. Still, there was a feeling of creeping heat enveloping his ears whenever he remembers the expanse of her smooth skin, especially the kiss they shared after.
Shaking his head as if to dispel the unwarranted thoughts physically, Indra shoved the map closer to his face. With a piece of charcoal he had kept with him, he marked down the paths and places of importance to mark as added landmarks missing from the map. By the direction they are heading, they will soon reach a twin of mountains where they would have to traverse through a pass between them to cross through the other side.
"That area is false." Sakura commented as she suddenly came out of the blue and poked her finger at the center of the dotted area marking the two mountains.
"Have you no concept of distance, woman?" he grunted as he scooted away from where she sat herself near him. His eyes trailed back on the map and felt a small tug at the corner of his lips, knowing that his refusal of calling the pinkette by name would give her displeasure.
With her unamused look that was left ignored, Sakura rolled her eyes up and shook her head slightly. She knew that he was purposely not addressing her name as a form of revenge for her teasing. Still, she has great hope that the stubborn man will come around soon.
Her finger made way to his map again and drew an invisible horizontal line that cut the mountain in half. She then moved her hand in time with her words, mapping out the changes in his outdated map. "The earth rumbled in that land more than two decades ago. The tremors were so great that it had ultimately torn the land asunder into two separate lands. The only way to travel through, is by using a boat to cross to the other side of the great river where the other half of the mountain now resides. However, that great earth-shake did not only split the mountains, but it had also destroyed the pass people used. The only way to cross the broken land is either to climb above and beyond the mountain, or circle it till one has reached the great river."
Indra frowned, "If what you say is true, then either way the time of travel will be extended greatly for at least an entire sennight."
"Of course what I said was true," she tutted, rising to her feet. "I have crossed these mountains and river myself. However, the time I travelled had only cost me an entire day. I have reached the other side just before dark twilight."
"You lie." He growled, snapping his head towards her with an accusing glare.
Undeterred, Sakura rose her chin up in confidence as she stood. "I have never lied to you, Indra. In fact, I would have reached the port village if I had not stopped and admired the false stars that belong to no sky."
"Now I know that you are illusioned. The stars belong to no other but to the sky, as are the sun and moon."
"I have not believed it as well at first until I have seen it with my own eyes. Once I had, I was convinced that the earth should not be taken as it is. The things I have seen in my travels is only proof that there is much beauty and mystery that are hidden and yet to be discovered." A knowing smile graced her lips as she placed her hands on her back and tipped her back down, green eyes locking with his dark pools. "Would you like to come see?"
Indra blinked hard, growling as he rolled up his map and ignore the fast beating of his heart. "I did not come here to these chaotic lands to sightsee. I am here to do a mission in my father's name."
"I admire your faithfulness to you father, but did you not say that this is all just a farce?" she asked testily, eyes not leaving his form as he stood and secured his belongings.
Without looking back, Indra's hands fisted on his sides, eyes glaring with a bitter glint. "Yes, a waste of a time farce."
.
"Indra?" Sakura cocked a brow at his back.
He stopped once they were at the base of the mountain. The dirt path they've been following veered a hard right. It's rough and jagged walls would make it difficult but very possible to climb. One of the options she presented were to climb up and over the giant land formation, it will save them at least a few days of travel rather than circling the mountain. To the norm, this path would be impossible unless the traveler has the patience, strength, stamina, and knowledge of facing an intimidating wall rock that almost touched the clouds. Yet both of them knew that they are very capable of climbing with their gift of chakra. So what is this hesitance?
'Ah but he has yet to master the art of lizard's feet.' She giggled silently to herself as she fanned herself over her mouth, referencing the reptile's ability to walk on ridiculous angulations and even on aqueous surfaces.
"How exactly were you able to cross this mountain in less than a day?" he asked finally.
She hummed, "Instead of traversing over or around it, I traveled through it. Would you like to use that method instead?"
Reluctance was evident in his features. His lips were hard pressed into a thin line, not knowing what to say or do as his pride and duty warred within himself. He almost regretted looking back at her and seeing her knowing smile. However she didn't wait for his response and giggled. To her, seeing that brief spark in his eyes was more than enough of an answer. She snapped her fan closed and hid it in her obi before stepping up next to him, only to turn left of the opposite side of the road.
"Come," she motioned as she parted through the bushes.
The way she led him through was nowhere near smooth. The forest was almost covered with berry bushes, and the thick thickets and brambles often caught the cloth of his robes and her red hakama. Indra was almost tempted to create a path of his own and leave a trail of ashes of those nuisance foliage in his wake.
Sakura suddenly stopped and fell. Indra's feet immediately dashed to see what happened only to find her skidding down her geta with masterful balance on an eroded dirt wall before landing gracefully at the bottom of a trench. She motioned her hand to him and Indra followed suit. Following the trench led them to a cave at the end, carved explicitly at the base of the mountain. With its hidden location surrounded by towering trees and overbearing foliage, the darkness that immediately blanketed at the mouth was instantly eerie and the looming silence that it brought was a warning and promised danger if not taken heed.
"Here we are!" Sakura exclaimed, opening her arms out in glee. Her cheery voice of surprise was a great contrast to the cave's menace. Indra stared at her, unimpressed. That is, until she took out her canteen of water strapped onto her hip and washed her hands. After which she took out her knife from her pouch and cut a delicate line across her palm. She didn't even winced. "Now, I advise you to keep your silence, Indra. The master of this cave is very sensitive, so please observe while I negotiate."
Indra's lips parted but couldn't find the words to say and all he could do was watch as Sakura turned on her heel and approached the cave. With her hand that was already dripping with the crimson liquid of her blood, smeared a single wide stroke at the rocky edge. As Sakura washed the blood from her hand, they waited, and it wasn't long until they heard a faint hissing coming from deep within the inky darkness. The malevolence was enough to disturb the birds as the hissing and scuttling grew louder.
There was a sudden shift in the air and Indra felt it instantly. Like a sudden change in the tide, he felt a stream of subtle, foreign power shift from the trees, the earth, and wind. His sharingan activated on impulse but his eye could not see anything, but it did let him feel the small ripples of an invisible stream from Sakura, then to her blood on the wall, and then to the emptiness of the cave.
The pinkette took a few steps back and it was as if the darkness had been physically pulled from within, taking the form of giant claws, legs, and a long tail raised high in the air with promised potent venom. Indra stared back with slightly wider eyes, not out of fear- heavens no- but more of fascination. He had seen animals of greater size than norm, his father even had a friend named Gamamaru that was much bigger than normal toads and possessed an intelligence great enough to understand and speak human speech. However he has yet to see a creature of titanic size.
"You summoned me, blossom?" the deep rumble of the giant scorpion's voice echoed eerily from its unmoving mandibles as it lowered its massive flat head. Full red eyes shifted minutely to stare down at the unflinching pinkette before it.
Sakura smiled sweetly and dared to brush a hand along one of the scorpion's claw. "Sasori, how are you?"
"Sleepy." It hissed.
She pulled back and pressed her palms together, bowing her head. "My apologies!"
"Does not matter now." Long limbs scuttled around her slightly as if to assess her form. "I see you are well. Very good. How does your quest fare?"
She heaved out a sad sigh, her shoulders sagging as her brows furrowed. "Inconclusive."
The scorpion hummed in response, "And what of this… male? Though I only feed upon the fools that trespass my domain, I have no qualms of feasting on a present human flesh. So long as it is not you, dear blossom."
Indra widened his legs into a stance in reflex at the scorpion's blunt intentions, but Sakura stepped directly align with him as if to shield him from the great arachnid.
"Oh Sasori, you flatter me with your great affection towards me. However, Indra here is not a meal to be offered. He is a companion of mine. Which is why I called you upon your cave. We wish to cross the mountain."
The scorpion's tail rattled and its claws snapped dangerously for a few times, showing his displeasure. "You know how much I detest that notion. However, you also know that I can never deny you anything, dear blossom."
Sakura smiled up fondly, "I swear to heal all scratches and mar on your armor, Sasori. I know how high you pride yourself, with your shell's beauty."
A rumble of pleasure seeped from the scorpion as its tail rattled again this time in glee. "Very well."
With a skip in her step, Sakura hopped up on the massive claw and onto the thick carapace. Settling herself there in a comfortable position as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She casted her glance at his way and winked before patting the spot behind her.
.
Travelling through a tunnel under a mountain with absolutely zero visibility on the back of a giant scorpion was extremely disturbing. It was a weird experience, yes, but it rattled Indra in a way that made him- dare he say it- vulnerable. His eyes were his pride and greatest form of power, even if he has yet to uncover all of its secrets. It's as if he had been blindfolded and left at the mercy of his other senses, especially his hearing and smell. Below him, he felt the rocking motion of the carapace as the arachnid maneuvered them in the darkness of its domain. With barely any wind to cleave, he couldn't quite tell how fast they were moving. With his ears, he caught the screeching of bats every now and then above them among the hard scuttling of the scorpion legs along the hard rocks. At one point he even heard the steady stream and crashing of a hidden waterfall.
Indra remained silent as he kept his balance while Sakura sat in front of him. The soft, silky tendrils of her long pink hair would sometimes caress his face, making him catch a whiff of her natural floral scent. He hadn't realized he had closed his eyes in the darkness. While he kept himself on balance, he couldn't help but feel lost as he unknowingly savored her sweet scent.
Abruptly, the rocking stopped and he felt Sakura shift from her seat before landing on the hard floor below.
"Indra?" she called for him in the darkness.
"Hn." He responded, not knowing exactly where she was since her voice echoed throughout the silent walls. Indra's shoulders stiffened when he felt her small, delicate hand touch his.
"Follow the direction of my hand and cast a fire." she instructed.
"Why?"
"Please?"
Her voice was gentle with nary any mirth, it was firm but not enough to make it sound like a demand. Curious on what she could possibly be up to, Indra faced the direction of where her hand touched him and pulled back. The skin on his hand felt strangely cold the moment her hand was gone. In the darkness, he formed his hand signs he committed into memory before taking a deep breath and a steady line of fire came spewing from his mouth.
The sudden brightness in the dark cave earned him screeches and hisses from the cave dwellers as they hurriedly fled. It momentarily hurt his eyes but Indra did not falter, even if he was surprised to find Sakura below him. Her hand was raised high as she held up a torch to where his fire burned through the air. When the fire breath thinned out, Indra adjusted his eyes to the light of Sakura's torch that illuminated her visage with a soft, orange glow.
"Come." She motioned and once he set his feet on the ground, he felt a shudder when she suddenly grabbed his hand and almost dragged him to who-knows-where.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked, careful not to stumble on any invisible stone or platform. The torch could only light so much in this empty darkness.
"You will see." She replied with promise.
The pinkette lowered the flame and patiently guided the both of them between rows of jagged stalagmites as insects scurried away in fright, until they reached a crack in the wall that had just the right size for a man like Indra to enter. Without letting go of his hand, Sakura entered through the gap and carefully treaded through the confined space. They walked for a few steps until they were out on an open space again.
Indra heard a faint sound of water drops and his mind wracked on where she could have possibly taken him that only led to more darkness.
"We are here." She announced softly and Indra looked down in question. However, when she blew on the torch, Sakura had once again surprised him.
The moment the fire was put out, the entire expanse of the room was instantly illuminated with blue. Indra's heart leaped as he stared at the numerous dots of light that littered the walls- over hi and yonder, here and there beside and behind them, above the seemingly endless ceiling, and on the stalagmites below and stalactites above. The collective glow illuminated the lake beautifully before them. It was as if they were in an entirely different world. If they didn't consider that they were in fact in a cave, then they might mistake themselves to be atop the highest peak in the world, watching, unhindered, at the endless stars above the dark blanket of a cloudless night sky.
"False stars that belong to no sky," he breathed, remembering the pinkette's words. Eyes still marveled at the almost twinkling dots of blue above them.
"Beautiful, is it not?" Sakura sighed beside him, lost in her own awe at the breathtaking sight.
"If they are not stars, then what are they?"
"They are worms."
Indra's head snapped to her incredulously, "Worms?"
She hummed, "Glow worms. They are very rare. Among the many caves I have explored, this is the only place so far that housed these magnificent creatures. Unfortunately, I do not know how such a phenomena could happen. However, I would like to think that their mystery tells a lesson."
"What lesson?"
"That even the most seemingly insignificant creatures of the world, could still create something so breathtakingly beautiful."
She looked up to him with a meaningful smile, and Indra felt his chest swell as he inhaled more than he normally would. Turning his head back to the bioluminescent worms on the dark walls of the cave, as endless as the actual stars in the infinite sky, Indra couldn't help but feel a sort of content- one that he hadn't felt in years. And even when he was surrounded by the inky blackness of the cave, no shadow had whispered in his ear.
He had yet to pull away from her hand.
.
Indra kept silent, eyes transfixed on Aini's hands until the glow of green hue faded out and the ugly scar on the carapace was no more. Satisfied with her work, Sakura patted the giant scorpion's claw.
"As good as newly shed skin, Sasori." She smiled up and the arachnid rattled its tail in glee.
"Most splendid, blossom." It hummed and lowered its pointed tail before her. Her eyes sparked at the notion and hastily took out an empty vial in her pouch. With her hand directing the telson of its tail, she pointed the vial at its tip and potent purple venom filled the container to the brim. Satisfied, Sakura capped and covered the vial in a secure cloth, careful not to touch a drop of the dangerous venom.
"Where will you be headed now, Sasori?"
"To the far southern east where the sun is always at its peak and the lands are devoid of life and green. I have great plans to establish a new territory in those arid lands."
She smiled fondly and gently kissed the flat head, "Fruitful travels to the desert for you, Sasori."
"And to you, blossom. Summon me again upon your will."
With one last hiss, the giant scorpion turned and scuttled back inside the cave, merging with the darkness once more until the rippling rumbles of its legs faded along into nothingness. Sakura turned on her heel and smiled up at Indra as she took out her fan and used it to point at the huts at the bank of the river. Appearing like small toys from their vantage point at the side of the mountain.
"Less than a day." She raised her chin up snootily, referencing the sun that had slowly began its descent over the horizon as Indra rolled his eyes.
"How did you come in contact with that creature?"
"Sasori?" she fanned herself. "I stumbled upon him whilst I was but a naïve girl and had trespassed his home. He was very much smaller than he is now. Fortunately at that time, he did not thought of me as a meal. He was the one who showed me that room of false stars."
"Why must you use blood?" he asked, wondering why she had to cut herself to summon the beast.
Sakura hummed, "Blood seemed to be a sort of defining source, of an unbreakable contract. I believe that it enables him to recognize me easier as his friend lest he would have attacked us blindly. Sasori is a very sensitive and territorial creature. I apologize, I do not quite understand it myself."
"How exactly did you stumble into this cave?"
Her fan snapped closed and she sauntered towards him with the teasing glint on her eyes and a smirk returning to her face. "Are you curious about me, Indra?"
He frowned and wrinkled his nose as he whipped his head away. Sakura giggled for another successful tease as she stepped back and resumed to fanning herself. They walked down the side of the mountain and into the forest floor until they were once again at the dirt path where they could see the walls that made up the small port village.
"What did you do just now?" Indra couldn't help but press on. At Sakura's questionable gaze, he added. "The way you used chakra earlier. I have seen my brother perform something similar."
"Your brother can heal?"
"I believe that is what it conjures. It is the only jutsu that I…" he looked away, hesitant. "…cannot perform."
"Jutsu…" she rolled the term over her tongue, processing the meaning and committing it to memory just like the other foreign terms Indra mentioned as he slowly pressed his questions day by day. Admittedly, she is quite pleased with his progress even if there were times the shadow that whispered in his ear would rear its ugly head and extinguish the fire of a seeker in his eyes. "Oh do wipe away that scornful look on your handsome face, Indra. There is no shame in admitting one's dearth. Your… chakra is to fire as I am to water. There are abilities granted and denied from the affinity of our nature. Though I admit that mending the broken and seeing the fault inside living creatures requires a much higher mastery of control than norm. I myself cannot explain it deliberately."
Indra's heart leaped. His mind echoed the way she had just called him handsome that made his chest swell with pride and a smirk tugged at his lips. "You think I am handsome?"
He asked with a hint of smugness as he took a daring step closer to her. Sakura's brow arched at his words, not missing the way he just deliberately casted aside the main course of their conversation. Nevertheless, she didn't deny the strange fluttering in her stomach as she held up her fan to her nose to hide the way her teeth chewed on her lower lip. As versatile as she is like steady flowing water, she could still be a rushing current that could knock away stone.
She moved her fan aside a bit to show him her own smirk. "How conceited of you to ask, Indra, but to answer your question… well, I certainly did not consider pressing my lips onto you if I had not considered you to be an attractive man."
Of course, she didn't have to mention that she did it so that she could release the very small dose of poison hidden under her tongue to knock him out, and that her thinking of him as handsome was only a fraction of her reason. Still, she did enjoyed the way his smirk fell into a thin line at her confession.
Her pink eyelashes fluttered deliberately as they locked gazes, and of course, Sakura refused to be backed into a corner without a fight.
"How indecorous." Indra accused, but the threat was far less intimidating in his reluctance.
Anyone would've been offended but Sakura didn't miss the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed. Using that as initiative, she dared to step closer, invading his personal space without a care until their feet nearly touched each other. Indra kept his face stoic as he stared down at the pinkette that was a head shorter than him, holding his ground. Her hand came up to tangle on his cloak, and with a bit of effort, pulled his head down till his ear was at level with her face and her warm breath fanned hotly in his ear.
"You say so, but I seem to recall your tongue invading my mouth. Ahh would it possibly be your first time to kiss someone, Indra?" she breathed his name in a way no woman should. In fact, her shameless choice of words was more than enough to make any man color in red and spark a scandal amongst many. It could easily accuse her of being a harlot. However she had always found it oddly pleasurable to tease the brunette and the way his shoulders stiffened brought a shudder up her own spine. Aini giggled, "Oh how interesting. It was my first kiss as well."
As quickly as it came, the pinkette pulled away and turned on her heel. She refused to look at his expression mainly because she was merciful enough to save him the embarrassment and also to hide her own pleased expression. Sakura giggled to herself silly with her chin up in triumph as she resumed walking up the dirt road with a spring in her step. All the while she fanned herself, as if to physically fan away the heat that coursed through her cheeks and the tip of her ears.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's into IndraSaku. I hope that more fanfics would be made about them in the future.
SHOUT-OUT TO:
'momoko09': As much as I like the idea of Indra and Sakura visiting a brothel, I don't think a place like that had existed yet- historic-wise. However it did inspire me with another idea that's similar. After all, Indra needs a lot of exposure and I intend to do that in their adventure. Thank you very much.
If any of you has any suggestions, please don't be shy and leave it in the reviews. I hold everything into consideration and who knows, your ideas might even be featured in the later chapters- with credits to you of course.
To press a concern, I hope Indra isn't a bit too OOC. This timeline does follow the blank period in Hagoromo's test. We didn't see much on how Indra did his job compared to Ashura so I thought it was the perfect setting to bring the two characters closer. I always thought that Indra was a nice and sweet guy until that nuisance (Zetsu) came and ruined everything. I noticed in the filler episodes that Indra is quite fond in learning and being innovative, yet still has concerns on the consequences of his inventions. I think he would've been a great leader without the whole bitter, anger management issues. So that's the conflict I'll be pressing on him in this fic.
As for Aini (I chose that name because Indra and Ashura are hindi names and Aini does mean 'flower', I thought it would be perfect.)- Sakura, well, I like the notion that you guys think of her as a mystery so I'll leave it at that! And you'll find out in the later chapters!
Thank you very much and hopefully this fic will reel in more readers and inspire IndraSaku fanfics in the future.
Ciao~!