Ereshkigal

It was final. Set in stone and not to be stepped on. She was heartbroken.

After the war, she had spent her days in the underworld, cleaning after her ex lover and child. She reestablished the souls in their rightful world with the help of her sons of course. Ereshkigal had so much to do she couldn't even make time for her favorite human. They needed a new council first and foremost; pick the next vessels for the released Gods, a stronger sealing method for both Uranus and Ranginui. Anaru had to be punished of course, but no punishment seemed great enough. Minds of humans also had to wiped, a standing law in the world of Gods.

But she chose to ignore those problems in favor of her world. Seeing as that Anaru was unsatisfied with his rule, she gave him the West, where she held souls that escape in the past, to rule alongside of the East. That left the Goddess with free time to get the rest of her life together.

The new council held most of its original members. But due to the passing or Saa, Shiva and Minerva, they had to make their own decisions. Ereshkigal was chosen to lead them in meetings. She wanted nothing to do with her new title, snarling whenever they addressed her as "Head of Council". It made Zeus giggle. Their first meeting was what made the female so sick.

She spent her days in the underworld, watching over her sons and souls. She didn't care to use her orb to gaze into the world of the living; it was far too painful of a practice.

"Ereshkigal, care to start this meeting?" Poseidon cooed.

"Don't you have fish to make love to?"

"Don't be so crass, until the elders can regenerate themselves you are new leader." Zeus flicked a page in his book.

'Fine, discuss." She growled.

"How do we go about Uranus and Ranginui? Ranginui cannot live in Zeus forever and Uranus slipped away." Baas spoke first.

"Uranus is our priority," Zeus was still in his book. "I can deal with the spoiled prince."

"Where would he sneak off too?" Shizune whispered. They were use to not hearing her during council gatherings, so it was a rare treat to listen to the angel.

"That's for Thor, Odin and Baas to figure out." Ereshkigal smiled. "I require weekly updates."

"For hater of your title you sure do abuse your power." Thor grumbled.

"Get it done." She said solemnly.

"We must wipe memories." God muttered, "Human's aren't bright enough to know of our existence."

"I veto." Odin murmured. "Human's are our greatest allies. They at least deserve knowledge of our being."

"I disagree." Izanagi put a hand to his chin. "It could be very dangerous to their likelihood. They already fight over religion."

"Aye." Thor nodded. "Ereshkigal, you, Zeus and Poseidon are out elders now, how shall we proceed?"

"Wipe them. I am okay with that." Zeus grumbled, under his breath groaning about how he was not that old.

"I agree." Poseidon looked over to the Goddess.

"I do not."

"You? Queen of hating the living?" Baas gaped.

Ereshkigal sighed, not seeing a point in explaining her reasoning.

"We know you love him, but it was a mistake introducing him to our world." Zeus put the book down to give her an even stare. Ereshkigal shrunk into her seat, guilt eating away at her. It had been since she first made contact with him. She had regretted the way she included him into her life so easily without thinking of the consequences. These consequences had almost cost him his life.

"I love you dearly Ereshkigal, but I am more inclined to protect my family. You know what must be done." Poseidon had a hint of sadness in his tone. He was also right. She would have to let him go.

So she sat in her study, working tirelessly over her world, trying to quell the throbbing pain that threatened to break her.

Sasuke

"Great job out there Uchiha! You're a natural." Sasuke grinned inwardly. The praise he had gotten for the past few months was well worth the heatstroke he was about to have. He had taken Kohona Lightning up on their offer for a spot on their professional soccer team in December. As he walked out into the July heat, Sasuke kept hearing the honored words from his teammates swirl in his head. The breeze picked up a bit as he made his way to his shiny new 610 horsepower, 8-piston front brakes, V10 engine Audi r8. Dark blue of course. As much as he loved weaving in and out of traffic with this badass, he still stayed humble by driving his truck most days, which he put a new engine in to make it just as badass.

Even though he wasn't actually playing on the team just yet, the season hadn't started; he was still treated like a celebrity. Girls wore his jersey number with Mrs. Uchiha customized on the back, the paparazzi took pictures of his every move, and the news outlets were dogging him about what he'd bring to the team. Sure he still had the same habits from before the fame. He still ate ramen on Wednesdays with Naruto, still smoked a pack a day, still couldn't breathe on his own, and still had anxiety attacks, but you could never tell. He never once showed that side to the public.

His father didn't take it too well. He had yelled, cursed and screamed till Sasuke said he was still taking classes at the university. Fugaku could accept that for now, but he still expected his son to become a doctor after soccer. Sasuke reluctantly agreed. His mother on the other hand had beamed with so much motherly pride at his contract signing. He thought her face would be stuck in a permanent smile for years to come. She threw a gigantic party on his behalf just a week before. His brother had even told him he was proud he stood up for himself and gone as far as to quit his job and move to the US to become a chef. Sasuke could admire that.

Naruto got married in January, being a groomzilla the entire month of December. Hinata with her kind nature didn't speak up much, so her husband did, loudly. They had gotten the wrong flowers, evoking the blond's wrath. Sasuke found asshole Naruto enjoyable. They two fought less, surprisingly during those times. Sasuke would tell him he was being a dick and Naruto would become self-conscious and knock it off. Yes, asshole Naruto was self-conscious.

With all Sasuke's fame, he had earned many suitors of both male and female variety. That's how he met his now girlfriend. She had pretty violet hair that he was sure she dyed often, and shiny light brown eyes. Ami was the perfect girl for him, being an ex girlfriend anyway. She kept the hordes of fans as bay with her jealous personality and violent behavior. His parents didn't care for her and his friends even less. Whenever they were together, she made it seem as though no one could address Sasuke directly. If someone were to ask a question, Ami would answer immediately, scoffing as if it were a stupid inquiry in the first place. She was also a heavy drinking, and when she drank she was even more erratic. She had the thought that Sasuke was a cheater and would accuse him of such doings in front of many people.

He thought of leaving her again, but didn't want to have a recreation of the first time they broke up. Crazy girls are the worse to dump. They were fickle anyway; she'd leave him in a week for two weeks or so then beg for him back. No one was quite sure why Sasuke did this, not even him, but something attracted him to her.

Sasuke made his way through the halls to his flat, fatigue washing away the ego. He could hear Ami yelling at someone once he was at his door and sighed. She was always yelling.

"I'm home." A warm embrace met him once he stepped over the threshold. Ami's overpowering perfume clogged his lungs.

"Sasuke, you're home! Naruto is being mean to me!" Sasuke patted her head then locked eyes with his blond best friend.

"She can't take a joke." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure he didn't mean it, Ami."

"I hate being alone with him!" She sobbed.

"Ditto." Naruto had a controller in his hand, noises of a shooting game in the background. Sasuke sighed once more, removing Ami's hold from his waist.

"Naruto, be nice. Anyway, what are you doing here?" Sasuke sat down on his leather couch, taking the sweaty controller before tossing it promptly back at Naruto.

"I thought you'd be home sooner, but it's Wednesday, so..."

"Shit, let me change, we'll go."

But he was stuck in his seat. Ami was perched on his lap giving him her pout. "You're leaving?"

Sasuke placed a kiss on the crown of her head. "It is Ramen Wednesday."

"But you promised me a date night."

"I did?"

"Yes. You always spend time with Naruto. Stay home."

"Wait," Naruto glanced around the apartment. "You moved in? You let crazy move in? Did you also show her where the knifes were?"

"Naruto..."

"Just curious."Ami let out an exasperated groan, flipping off the blond. She then resumed her pout at her boyfriend.

"Are you cheating on me with Naruto?"

Naruto's laugh broke the awkward silence. Naruto laughed hard enough to fall from the couch. "Oh my, oh my that is new." Sasuke was less amused.

"Ami, what?"

"You are! You dirty scumbag! How dare you, with a married man!" She stood, storming out the room. Sasuke heard his door slam, a few things clattered then the door opened. Her heels clacked on the tile as she made her grand exist. "Don't you dare call me! We are through this time, Uchiha!" The wood could've splintered by sheer force of her tantrum. Naruto laughed again.

"Let's just go before she changes her mind."

"Sure thing, baby."

"I give her a week." They sat at the bar of Ichiraku, Sasuke downing his third cup of whiskey. He had seven text messages and twenty missed calls and they had only been there an hour.

"You give her too much credit." The grumpy ravenett muttered. Naruto sympathetically patted his friend shoulder.

"The fact you let her move in is beyond me. And you didn't tell me? And to think we shared each other's first kiss and I'm not even important enough to tell you were admittered to Kohona Institution? Because you have to be crazy to let her live there."

"Admitted? Naruto, please, think carefully of your words, see if they are in your range then use them. And ever bring that up again I will leave you on this floor with less teeth."

"How dare you!" By this time they had attracted a crowd. "I gave you the best years of my life and you just throw them away like I'm some... some... floosy! I thought you loved me!"

"Naruto, I swear on your life if you do not stop I will hurt you."

"Hurt me? You already did! It's bad enough you feel in love with another, but now you want me to just forget the best moment of my life?"

"Naruto. I swear on my life and yours I will break your bones." Whispers of the supposed abusive relationship fell on Sasuke like bricks. Naruto gave a look of disgust.

"You always do this, I promise to do better and you ignore me!"

Ayame, who was behind the counter, snickered. "Are two breaking up? I'd be sad, you two are my best customers."

"Do not encourage him." She refilled his glass, smiling kindly. Naruto had calmed significantly to high five the ramen chef's daughter. The crowd had thinned after a minute or two, leaving Sasuke to drown his liver.

"Is this seat taken?" Both boys glanced over to the female asking to be seated next to Sasuke. Long pink hair fell in endless layers over her right shoulder. Her jade irises were alight with a friendly smile adorning her pink lips. Her skin was tinted softly in the suns rays, voice as sweet as a freshly picked cherry.

"Not at all!" Naruto shouted before Sasuke could say no. "I'm Naruto, and you probably have seen dick head over here on TV."

A blank look crossed the girl's angelic face. "I'm afraid I haven't. Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you Naruto and 'dick head'." She had the lightest of laughs.

Naruto barked. "She called you dick head!"

"If you yell in my ear one more time, dope, I will slam your head into this counter."

"Don't mind him, he's grumpy, his ex girlfriend is psycho."

"Oh, just break up?"

"Terrible, she was throwing shit, saying crazy things like he was gay and what not."

"Oh my." Sakura looked horrified, a hand to her lips.

A familiar feeling crept into Sasuke's mind. He could place where he had seen this girl before, if he had anyways. That hair would be hard to forget.

"Do you go to KU?" Naruto kept the conversation flowing.

"I do, I enrolled there last June. Do you both attend?"

"I do, I'm working on becoming a junior senator. Sasuke doesn't. He's a big soccer player now."

"Oh! Sasuke Uchiha? My dormmate talks about you constantly, but I am not a Kohona fan."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Suna, born and raised."

Both boys made a noise of disgust. "Sparrow fan."

"Damn right! And we're taking ya'll down!"

They shared a laugh as Ayame poured Sasuke another drink. "What can I get you?" She looked to Sakura.

"What ever is on tap tonight."

"Yes, ma'am."

They spent a few more hours together, talking like long lost friends. Sakura was a mythology major who moved from Suna after her parents died. She spoke several languages and knew a about each deity known to man. She wasn't big on hard alcohol, but could drink beer till the cows came home, had the same dirty smoking habit and a sailor's mouth. She was friends with Ino and roommate to Karin. That would explain why her roommate spoke so highly of Sasuke.

"That's my cousin, biggest crush on Teme here." Naruto was on his fourth bowl of beef ramen, slurping loudly.

"I figured she did. Posters are so creepy." Sasuke tensed.

"What?"

"You heard me, posters. Full body sized posters of your face all over her walls. I don't step foot into the room."

Naruto cackled endlessly. Sasuke's compromised comfort brought him great joy.

"Lovely." Sasuke wasn't sure he could get that mental image from his mind.

"Damn, it's late. I should get going." Naruto finished his bowl quickly and paid. "Hinata wants to watch some dorky vampire movie tonight."

"One-eight hundred I didn't ask." Sasuke sipped his water, Ayame cutting him off after his sixth glass.

"Bye Teme, and Sakura just tell Ino if he was mean to you, I'll beat him senseless."

"Yes sir."

Things got silent once the blond was gone. Sasuke wasn't one to just speak to females for any length of time alone. But Sakura didn't seem to mind, happily watching the bar television. She herself had four beers before opting for a tall glass of lemon water. Sasuke took this time to actually dig into his mind. He swore he had seen her somewhere, sometime in the past. He wasn't a believer of past lives, but at the moment was contemplating such a phenomenon.

"Take a picture it'll last longer." She laughed, meeting his hazy obsidian eyes.

"Sorry. Have we met before?"

Sakura looked at the clock a moment then rose from the bar stool. "You have no idea, Meus Princeps." And with that she walked away. Sasuke blinked a few times. What had just happened? And why did he feel the sudden urge to never leave her side? Was this what they called love at first sight?

Ereshkigal

"Are you sure about this?"

"Very."

"But Eima..."

"Oh darling, that does not mean I stop being your mother."

"But..."

She put her hand on Ezraeil's should, gazing lovingly into his violet irises. "My love, I will still be your mother."

"Okay. May we visit often?"

"Of course. Be good for your brothers?"

He nodded. Anaru had his arms crossed over his chest, defiantly refusing the tears in his dark eyes. "You two, Anaru."

"No shit." She gave a weak smile before hugging him. Alic was smiling wildly, eager to hug his mother.

"I will take care of them, promise."

"Thank you, my oldest." She placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Are you ready Ereshkigal?" Poseidon frowned, hoping her mind would change.

"It's Sakura, and yes. I am very ready." With one sad, tearful glance at her children she sniffed. "I am ready to revoke my Goddess privileges."

"You shall be implanted into Kohona University, roommates with a Karin Uzumaki and friend to Ino Yamanaka. Their memories have already been altered to accommodate you. As a special request on Zeus' behalf, you shall keep your memories." Poseidon bit into his thumb, producing a small bit of blood. He drew with it over Ereshkigal's face and arms. "Please. Be good to him."

"You have nothing to worry about, my friend. He is my sun, moon and stars."

Sasuke

He has seen her often, casting aside Ami for the rest of his life. Some force of other worldly magic gravitated him to the gorgeous creature. He often found himself with her after practice, having met her at the ramen shop again and exchanging numbers. He couldn't sleep unless he had called her, couldn't focus on class (which she had him enroll in) unless she was studying with him, couldn't practice perfectly unless she had wished him luck. It was sickening how dependent he was on the girl.

He still couldn't place where he knew her from, but had a wave of deja vu when she joined him for his morning practice at the park.

It was the Friday before his birthday. He was kicking the soccer ball aimlessly until he kicked it too far, the ball rolling down the hill. He remembered this happening countless times before, making him question why he practices on the hill. When he went to retrieve his dumb ball, Sakura was standing in between a tree and man. The man was heckling her to show him that her hair was in fact naturally pink in the nastiest way possible. Sasuke, like the gentlemen he was, kicked the perv in his face.

"Well, well, then. Thank you." She clapped. "I'm forever indebted to you. You have my loyalty."

"Something tells me you are a beacon of unwanted attention." Sasuke glared.

"How could you guess?" She kicked the ball over to him. He kicked it back begrudgingly. She laughed. "This wont be the last time you'll save me you know?"

"I was afraid of that." Sasuke shook his head, intercepting the ball from her.

"Unfair, I wasn't paying attention." Sasuke laughed, maneuvering the ball all around her.

"Keep up."

Whatever you call this, Sasuke was happy to have her around. She was slowly becoming the love of his life. They spent quiet nights at his place just talking for hours and hours, eating junk food or watching movies. There was one night things had gotten a little out of hand. Sakura had gotten made at him for the bra she found in one of his drawers. He had a really tough time explaining whom it belonged to when she found more than one. And the panties were a nice touch.

Once he calmed her down enough, he offered to let her burn the garments, whish she did happily. And when Ami came back to claim those clothes, Sakura informed her that they were ash in the bottom of the trash. Sasuke didn't mind one bit when Sakura had threatened the girl that is she ever came close to her man she would not hesitate to cut her fingers off. He really enjoyed when she said the same to Karin.

Lee had taken a special likening to Sakura however, the two becoming fast friends, joining him Tenten and Neji on adventures to stores and dinner. Sasuke didn't mind, knowing Lee only had good intentions.

Ino and Sakura were a hot mess together, though. Sasuke could do without that evil in his life. They had been friends when Ino lived in Suna in her younger years, being just as nasty then as now. They called one another 'Pig' and 'Billboard Brow' for good measure. They were into one-upping, like he and Naruto, but in the worse way. Sasuke recalled the drinking game they played one night, leading to him having to carry the girl back to his place. She was sick for most of the next day into the night. And sick Sakura was clingy.

His parents had taken a special liking to her. His mother doted so hard on her it was gross and his father seem to take an interest in her studies. Sakura went into her advance knowledge of Gods and monsters. They just loved how intelligent she was, that she spoke so many languages, knew a bit on different cultures and was so very humble about it all. She even charmed the pants off his uncle, and that was hard to do for an outsider. Madara had told him bring her around to family dinners more, she was, in his words, 'a breath of fresh air'. Itachi could also talk politics with her, which she was knowledgeable in along with sports and law enforcement.

She slid so perfectly in his life, he thanked whatever God was listening.

He had found his own personal Goddess.

Ugly sobbing you guys. I am so thankful for all the love and support you have given this story. I want to personally thank (Like I don't already) to my Yamora, you have the greatest reviews and let me know what's really going on. I would also like to thank my guest that reviewed and got me off my lazy tush and writing. You guys are a treasure. Thanks for reading Mother!