A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, subscribed, and favorited! I'm still trying to develop a good pace for this story, so please bear with me!

Unwind

Cycle IV

Ω

Sakura's first impression of Hinata Hyuuga is that the girl looks a little creepy. No, seriously. It seems neither Itachi nor Sasuke had any sense to get her out of the bloodstained clothes that she was sacrificed in, for goodness' sake, and now that it's accumulated a bunch of silver and gold celestial dust on its hems after her outing to the Archives, coupled with her pale eyes and dark hair – well, the girl could pass as an eerie phantom out of a horror novel.

The pink-haired girl forces a smile. She hoped that Itachi would have chosen someone who was a little less conspicuous.

"Hi," Sakura says cheerily, "Hinata, right? I'm Sakura. I'm basically the housekeeper of this place – I make sure the food is stocked, the inventories are full, and the other servants aren't slacking off."

"That seems like a huge job," says the indigo-haired girl in a surprisingly soft voice.

"It is," admits Sakura, "and gods know that I'm severely underpaid, but the Uchiha brothers can't run without me for a day, I swear. They're surprisingly useless for omnipotent beings."

Hinata looks startled. "Is – is it okay if you say things like that?"

"Why?" challenges Sakura with a sudden sharkish grin. "Are you planning on telling them?"

"N – no, b – bu – but—"

"I was joking," Sakura says, shaking her head. At the girl's perplexed face, she adds, "Don't worry, Hinata, I'm not out to get you."

But someone else might be, she thinks wryly.

As she gives the mortal girl a tour of the palace, she observes Hinata's hesitant movements, the passive angle of her head, and her uncertain footsteps. Is Itachi playing a joke? All the members of their team are aggressive, strong, sometimes even cunning (though, the last adjective definitely didn't apply to Naruto). Hinata is. Well, Hinata is just. Not that.

Unless she's hiding a secret sociopathic side, she looks totally harmless.

When they get to Hinata's room, Sakura shuts the door and casually stands in front of it, blocking the way out. Hinata's eyes shift from Sakura's hand on the knob to her green eyes. She blanches. White eyes search for another escape route, darting to the window before returning to meet her feet.

So, the girl is sort of observant. Big deal. What else?

"Let's talk, Hinata."

"A – about what?"

"Tell me about yourself. What was life like at home?"

The girl is obviously anxious. As she stutters about her family and her village, she bumps her pointer fingers together in a nervous tic that bothers Sakura more than the pink-haired girl lets it show. Nonetheless, Sakura makes sure to ask questions at the right pauses and to offer an encouraging smile, though her hand is still on the doorknob, a subtle reminder that Hinata will not be able to escape easily if she wanted to.

From what Sakura can tell, Hinata had a stifling childhood under the thumb of an overprotective family. She doesn't seem like a noble – at least, not the way Naruto, Itachi, and Sasuke are. They're proud and confident, and Hinata is. Well. Not that.

Sakura bites her lip. It seems she can't help comparing the new girl to the rest of the team so often because it's still hard to understand why, why, why this one? There have been plenty of sacrifices in previous years – they're all just working as servants somewhere in the palace now. So why her? And why now? Is Itachi close to a discovery? What is going on that the boys won't tell her?

"Um, Sakura? Are you okay?"

Sakura snaps out of it. She unclenches her hand. There's an indentation in the doorknob.

"Sorry about that. I was – distracted."

"It's fine," Hinata says with a small smile. Gods, this girl was so gentle. She's only going to get crushed if she stays with them.

"If you don't mind me asking," Hinata continues, "could you tell me more about this… place?"

Sakura blinks. "What do you mean?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm still not sure where I am, exactly. I don't know if I'm actually dead or not, and I don't know what's happening to me and the others around me. I don't know what my family is doing, and I don't – I don't think I can go back, so – so, if I can, I want to stop… worrying."

But your worries have only begun, Sakura thinks sullenly.

"It's no problem. All the others have asked similar questions as well. They're all scattered around the palace, if you're wondering. Itachi usually makes them dust the dressers or rearrange the potted plants or something – busy work, typically, because gods don't really need that many servants. They're more like decorations. Or trophies to show off to visiting gods."

"O – oh." Hinata looks vaguely disappointed.

"I said typically. Itachi assigned you to the Archives, didn't he? That's an important job. From what I've heard, it isn't easy."

Strangely enough, the white-eyed girl relaxes a little, pleased that – what? That she wasn't useless?

Sakura understands now. That kind of attitude… genuinely kind, complacent, willing to please… she would be the perfect tool. Itachi must have seen that immediately.

"Look at you, you must be exhausted," Sakura says worryingly. "Before I explain anything else, you need to change into the outfit that's in your wardrobe. Baths are usually taken in the mornings, so just do your best to wash up at the basin for now. When you're done, just call my name. I'll tell you everything then."

Hinata nods with a gratified smile, looking so guileless that Sakura's guilt goes up several notches as she exits the room.

Ω

The door shuts softly behind Sakura. Hinata decides to take the time to observe her assigned quarters more carefully.

The room is practically bare compared to her room back in her village. There is a plain cedar dresser in the corner, a medium-sized bed across it, a small table with empty drawers, and a door that leads to a closet-sized bathroom. The room is lit by a floating orb of light at the middle of the ceiling, which dims slightly when Hinata either approaches the bathroom or her bed.

Hinata does her best to scrub away every last ounce of dust that has accumulated on her face, neck, elbows, and ankles. She noticed earlier that although the glittery substance made Sasuke's complexion brighter, it only made her skin tone look cloudier and uneven. Perhaps it was just a godly thing?

Hinata opens the dresser. The first thing she notices is a strange smell. It's heavy, bittersweet, and cloying, like incense. As Hinata pulls on her new garments, her senses grow foggier and foggier. It's even becoming difficult to think straight.

She spots the reflection of glass in the corner of the wardrobe. The strong smell seems to come from the open vial there. Hinata tries to reach for it, but her fingers miss and accidentally knock the vial over, spilling its contents, a clear liquid, over the top shelf. The smell becomes dizzyingly potent.

Hinata takes a few wobbly steps backward. Her calves bump into the bed, and her sense of balance is so impaired that she tumbles into it.

"Elp!" she calls. Her lips feel like leaden weights. Some of her syllables come out garbled."S'k'ra! Elp!"

The door opens. Sakura enters the room, accompanied by Sasuke. Their faces are blurry and doubled, but she can make out grim looks on their faces.

"Listen to me, Hinata." Sakura's voice sounds warbled, like an echo. "This is a test. If you can get out of this trap with your mind intact, you pass."

And if I don't? Hinata wants to ask, except she's lost control of her throat muscles and she can only rasp a sigh.

As if reading her mind, Sasuke says, "If you fail, you'll lose your mind. In other words, you'll be brain-dead." His voice sounds faint, tinny even.

"Please try your best, Hinata," Sakura says.

Hinata would laugh at those words if she were able to. Try her best? Her world is fading away for the second time that day. Betrayal after betrayal... for how long does she have to try to her best? And for what purpose?

Ω

Itachi leans against the wall nonchalantly. Naruto sits next to him, playing a game of hide and seek with some marbles and one of his pet toads. They both look so unconcerned that Sakura can't help the surge of anger that rises in her chest. She clenches her fists.

"It's been hours," she hisses. "Sasuke has had her mind caught in one of his traps for hours. What's taking so long?"

"I admit it's abnormal," Itachi murmurs. There's a slight, barely noticeable crease between his eyebrows. "Sasuke is usually done testing the target's mind within half an hour at most. The only reason it would take so long is if the target's state of mind has a high level of mutability and tolerance to mental infiltration…"

"Which means?" Naruto asks, plucking a marble out of his pocket away from the toad's reach.

"It means," Itachi says with a sigh, "that there's a mental, possibly psychological, battle going on in there."

Sakura takes a sharp breath. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Probably." Itachi shrugs.

"Relax, Sakura!" Naruto exclaims. "Stop pacing so much. If the girl is strong enough, she'll make it through."

Sakura grits her teeth. "That's exactly the problem. It's if, not when. She was innoc—"

A grisly, anguished scream interrupts her words. The hairs on the back of her neck rise.

"Is that—"

"Sasuke!"

Itachi tears the door open. Hinata is curled up in a ball on the bed, and Sasuke is in the same position on the floor beside her. They're both shaking violently.

It's the first time Sakura has seen Sasuke look so vulnerable and hurt. His eyes are squeezed shut, and his normally stoic face is scrunched up in obvious pain. It sends unpleasant shivers down her spine.

Itachi approaches the boy, closing his eyes and putting a hand on Sasuke's sweaty forehead. Within moments, the screams cease and the room is silent.

"Wh – what's going on?"

When they look up, Hinata is sitting upright on the bed. Her white eyes are wide and terrified.

Across from her, Itachi glares. Naruto is tense, as if ready for a fight.

Sakura glances down at the unconscious figure of the younger god, then back at Hinata's pale form in her new black servant's robes.

It seems her first impression of the girl couldn't have been more correct. Hinata Hyuuga is fucking creepy.

chapter four fin