the walk to the mess hall was a little further away from her room. it was a lot of cutting corners and you can easily get lost. the palace itself was dark as if it's made out of black marble and ebony. the ceilings were high, unreachable. but when karin stopped walking, sakura bumped on her back and caught herself before falling on the floor.
"everyone is inside. everyone usually wait for each other to be there before sitting down. but some just sit right away. this is a special occasion that you're the last one. usually the lord is the last one to appear due to his time schedule and sleeping patterns. it might take a while for you to get used to coming here by yourself, but take your time."
she opened the door and there was everyone. even the moon goddess herself was here. when she saw every men looking at her, she felt queasy and started to panic as her heart was racing really fast. when the dragon god came towards her and introduced himself and along with the rest of the gods and goddesses, she started to panic even more.
"you must be tsunade's daughter! it is a pleasure to meet you!"
"you really do took up your mother's features."
"what is your name again, sakuya? sayori? sakura?"
"milady? is something i've said offended you?"
she shook her head and she back away slowly from everyone until she reached the the door and excused herself. she ran back towards to her room while leaving everyone baffled excluding sasuke who was hiding in the shadows.
sasuke announced to everyone to be seated and start eating as he's going to get sakura again. it didn't took him long for him to catch her. when he did, the mist formed around her and she stopped. she turned around with panic on her face and she held her ground.
"why did you leave? they're not going to hurt you."
"i was so scared, eldest one... you left me by myself... last night" he knew that she's going to say that. he left her last night so she could sleep peacefully. he also needed sleep himself since his sleeping pattern is broken.
"im sorry. i have to attend to my duties as the god of this place." he wasn't lying at least. who else would run this place?
"im scared... of men, eldest one... except you... you wont hurt me right?"
she looked up at him and that's when it hit him. miyuki and sakura really do look alike. just now, it hit him how sakura's name just went out of the window and he was so close calling her miyuki. he need to get his shit together as he knows miyuki is dead and gone. he's not protecting this girl from the sky god for the greater good.
he had hurt the one woman whom he loved and trusted. but he can't seem to open his heart once again. can he really not hurt her? can she really trust him to protect him? he was so confused. even after being pricked with the arrow, his feelings are being thrown everywhere. being near her is still... unbearable.
he needs to control this.
"i sworn your mother that i will protect you." he told her. she took her gaze away from him and nodded.
they walked back to the mess hall and he sat her down on his left side and he sat down on the middle of the table. everyone was quiet when they arrived but sasuke motioned them to keep eating and the conversation they were having. sakura was hesitant at first to eat the world of the underworld as it might keep her bounded here.
"the food in front of you are from above. it will not make you bound to this land when you leave." sasuke told her.
sakura slowly ate her food as she listened to the gods and goddesses around her talked and bickered. sasuke on the other hand has his eyes on her all the time. observing her.
she noticed that his mist turned into a female spirit. a black figure-less spirit. the female spirit floated to sakura and circled around her giving her warmth and reassurance. she looked at sasuke and by this time, he was eating and reading some papers that were laid out in front of him.
as each one of them were done eating, they excused themselves and went to wherever they are needed. when there's only the two of them left, he offered her a tour of the place as. "the underworld is vast. might as well show you around."
During the whole day, sasuke showed sakura the whole underworld. he showed her everything she needed to know from the gates where they've entered, all the way to the depths of the palace and it's perimeters. when there were gods and goddesses who approached them, she would get tensed, especially if they're males and looking at her. sasuke on the other hand, would wrap his mist around her body to give her some reassurance that nothing is going to happen to her when he's near.
before going to the mess hall for dinner, sakura noticed the moon goddess was preparing to leave. a little moment later, the sun god appeared and kissed her good night before she vanished slowly. this was her first time seeing the two together as her mother would always tell her that the moon and sun only meet on certain hours of the day. sasuke on the other hand was talking to the god of death about what happened today at the judgment hall. then all of the sudden, the sun god interrupted them.
"hey guys~ what's crackin down here in the underworld?!"
he beamed and put his arms around the two gods. Sakura on the other hand went behind sasuke to hide from him.
"ah! why's the daughter of the sky god and earth goddess here?!"
the god of death sealed his mouth before any visitors could hear them.
"this is a confidential matter. no word of her being down here shall leave the premises, or our lord here will punish you."
the god of death's eyes changed to something else, his veins on his eyes became more prominent and propped. and the sun god released the god's hand on his mouth and told him ok.
"there's a search team looking for you. nobody knows where you are and they asked hinata about it already since she's the one who can see everything at night as she's the moon goddess." he eyed her carefully.
"she's under my care. if you touch her, i will kill you." sasuke warned.
sakura touched his right forearm and looked at him with this sorrowful expression as if telling him not to do it. he looked at her and his expression softened as his muscle relaxed under her touch also. he sighed and told everyone to get to the mess hall as they're about to eat dinner.
dinner was quite eventful. with the sun god's animated self, he made the table more lively as everyone around him chattered and laughed and joked around. the sun god himself gave them gossips on what he saw on above ground and he told sakura that her mom and shizune are fine and tending the humans. she felt a relief as she was getting worried about her mother and shizune.
"i just realized, where is the shadow god, shikamaru?" the sun god asked.
"he's visiting someone from above ground, naruto. he said that yesterday that he wont be here the whole day and tomorrow." karin said.
when naruto huffed, the soft burst of sun's energy radiated from him and touched sakura's soul.
"do it again." she said. everyone looked at her. she didnt even noticed that she spoke as if the burst put her in a trance.
"this?"
naruto gave a three wave pulse of the radiation and it made her soul flared and revived. oh how she missed the sun.
"thank you. i feel better." she looked at naruto and gave him a small smile. when she looked at sasuke again, he was stoic and unemotional.
"well, she's not used to this place, just give her time to readjust, she will do fine."
"but what if she needed the sun? what should we do? naruto cant always be here."
"more importantly, we will keep her safe here."
"what if they found out she was here, would they wage war upon us...?"
they all fell silent. sasuke on the other hand was getting irritated and wanted to yell out but before he could, sakura lightly touched his leg and diverted his attention to her.
"if they waged war, i will protect you. all of you." with that, all of their worries went away.
when dinner was over, tenten, karin, and the mind reader goddess, ino, all guided sakura back to her room so they could take a bath together in the hot springs. she was hesitant at first but when she looked at sasuke, he gave her an approval nod and she went with them. while she was away, he went to where orochimaru was and asked him for advice as he's one of the most enlightened and trust worthy ally he has.
"troubled mind is not good for the body, eldest one."
he gave him a tea to make him relaxed as sasuke sat down on one of the benches that overlook the underworld.
"i feel like the creator is playing with me and my mind." he confessed.
"whenever im near her, she reminds me of that woman. she gives me this look that I couldn't resist. she touch me casually, the way that woman did. her eyes are speaking to me as if to tell me that it is her... what is happening here?"
he threw the tea cup across the yard and the dragon god caught it with his long arms.
"you really are in a bad state of troubled mind." he poured him another tea, this time using the tea that tsunade gave them.
"tsunade gave these to me when i went up above the ground. she said it will clear your mind from worries. as for your troubled thoughts, everything will unfold. patience is virtue, eldest one." he sat next to him and patted his head. "And the fates really are playing with you."
the fates. those god damn old hags.
"you are the eldest one out of all of us. yet... you are the most kind hearted out of all of us. your compassionate towards everyone changed you since you came here in the underworld. if you didnt take me in, i would have died from being heretic according to the sky and ocean god." the dragon god smiled.
sasuke sighed and finished off his tea. when he heard giggling, he thought to himself that the ladies were done taking a bath together. when he stood up and turned around, the illusion god was approaching them as the dragon god, illusion god, shadow god, and mind reader goddess all work together.
"eldest one." he greeted.
"itachi."
the knock on her door made her jumped up from the sofa. she walked towards the door and slowly opened the door to take a peek through the cracks who it was, and it was the god of the underworld himself. she let him in and closed the door as he sat on the sofa in front of the fire pit. sasuke noticed that it was a little chilly in this room, so he added a few logs on the fire pit to increase the temperature.
sakura on the other hand sat in front of the fire pit and placed her hand near the fire to warm her up. he noticed that the blue yukata that she was wearing earlier was on the sofa next to him.
"the fires of the underworld is different from the fires above. they can sometimes lead you to your death by lulling you to a trance and sleep if you sat too close to it." sakura looked at him and quickly sat on the other side of the sofa next to him. he wrapped his yukata around her and gave her some of the tea that orochimaru gave him.
"tea from the dragon god." he said.
"the dragon god? the enlightened one?"
"yes. he is also my adviser. And guide me how to be better." he closed his eyes while drinking the tea.
the silence filled him and the warmth put him in a far far far away place in his memories.
'milord, the dragon god gave me a gift. he said this tea will help you relax. why dont you try it also with me?' he took the cup from her and sipped it slowly as he doesnt want to burn his tongue. the woman sat next to him and wrapped her arms around his body and relaxed on his chest. 'milord... thank you for making me happy.'
sasuke shot his eyes open as he realized that he wasnt in his room. sakura was now sleeping on his lap and his hands were on her face and hair. he groaned to himself and thinking how pathetic he was. he carried sakura in his arms and laid her down on her bed. he turned off every single light in the room and increased the heat of the fire. before leaving, he turned around and looked at her and he saw her looking at him.
"...eldest one? can you stay here with me until i fall asleep...?" she asked and closed her eyes. he slowly went to her bed and sat next to her. sakura held on to his right hand and started to relax. as minutes and hours went by, he slowly let go of her hand, slowly got out of her room, and went to his room.
he really isis a pathetic fool.