A/N: I've skipped Day 19: Mnemonic. Sorry 'bout that.
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto; this fanfic, however, belongs to yours truly.
Trigger warning: Gore
Day 20: Sacrifice
There once was a village set deep within the mountainous valley, it was a prosperous village… until the White Death plagued it. It was a dark night when the white mist rolled in and the villagers were none the wiser. The next morning, symptoms appeared on many of its inhabitants; black marks appeared throughout their bodies that started spreading and swelling as the day passed. The infected villagers were then subjected to excruciating pain from those marks as they popped and released pus that was mixed with blood that was almost black in colour. All known treatment was useless in the face of this new disease; and the infected were usually dead within days. The bodies were immediately disposed of by cremation before it totally liquefied. All that was known of it was that it was transmitted through bodily fluids and that there was no cure for it…
The mighty warriors of the Uchiha clan had been reduced to a single lone member. Uchiha Sasuke trudged throughout the town lifelessly; the White Death had robbed him of his family. He had stayed by his parents and brother's side while they were moaning in pain until their final moments. Sasuke wondered dully at the irony of him not being infected even though he was in close contact with his family; wouldn't death feel that much better now that the most important thing in the world had been taken from him?
He stopped in his tracks when he saw a procession of the village's high priests, priestess and remaining villagers leading a girl not older than eighteen into the forest deep into the mountains. The girl had her head down in silent resignation as her parents wept tears of sorrow beside the palanquin that she was being transported on. Sasuke shook his head sadly when he recalled the ceremony they were practicing; the village elders had decided that they were going to sacrifice a girl in order to please the God of Fortune. They had hoped that the God of Fortune will be pleased with the sacrifice and then turn their misfortune into fortune. Sasuke knew that the sacrificial ritual wouldn't work at all…
Two weeks later with no change in the situation save for more villagers succumbing to the White Death, the village elders figured out what went wrong. They had prayed to the wrong deity; instead, they should have focused on the Goddess of Health and Wisdom. It was then that they decided that they needed another sacrificial offering… The goddess, they had assumed, would prefer a male offering instead of a female offering. The villagers turned their sights onto the last Uchiha. Sasuke would make the perfect offering; he was incredibly good looking and smart as well. The best part of him being the sacrifice was that he wouldn't leave behind a mourning family like the last sacrifice had…
Although Sasuke was initially pissed that he had been chosen as the sacrifice due to the fact that he was an orphan, he knew that it was probably for the best. If he was sacrificed, none of the other family had to suffer losing their loved ones. Additionally, he was well and truly alone in the world; in his mind, his death would be one of peace as he would be reunited with his family and clan. He just hoped that the White Death would be stopped with his death…
For the week before the ritual was help, Sasuke was taken into the temple where he was required to meditate daily and bath in the sacred pool to cleanse his very body and soul. At last, it was time for the ritual to begin. Early in the morning, Sasuke bathed in the waterfall behind the temple. Once he was out, he was clothed in only a simple white cotton yukata. Then, Sasuke was escorted onto the palanquin before he was transported high up into the mountains; the sacrifice must be as clean as possible, so his feet is prohibited from touching the ground once he had donned on the yukata.
It was cold that high up in the mountains and Sasuke was transported to what seemed like an altar was a thick log set vertically upwards in front of it. The body of the girl sacrificed before him hung from the log and the priestess worked together to untie her from the log before they tossed her body right off the mountain. Then, the priests and village elders secured Sasuke onto the log with ropes so that he wouldn't escape once they took their leave. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes at the idiocy of it all; there was never any evidence that sacrificial offerings to the god ever worked. The most logical thing to happen was that he was going to either die of starvation of freeze to death. He casted a side glance to where the girl's body had been tossed; he hoped that whatever that got to him, it would be quick…
The ritual lasted for almost an hour before Sasuke was left alone in the chilly mountain. He took in the sight in front of him; the sacrificial ground was set near a cliff so that it overlooked the mountain ridges. The view was breath-taking; this high up in the mountain, Sasuke could see the white clouds below where he was suspended. The rising sun from beyond the sea of clouds casted an extraordinary rainbow of hues on the clouds and for a brief moment, Sasuke was enveloped in the feeling of total peace.
Then, the wind started picking up and was growing stronger by the minute. The once white clouds turned grey in colour and started rolling like the waves of the sea. The temperature dropped further and Sasuke could hardly feel his fingers and toes at this point. Lightning started flashing and the thunder boomed powerfully; Sasuke stared in awe at the sudden change in weather. He felt the wind whirling around him and saw that the clouds were being sucked into the vortex where he was in the middle of. Lightning flashed dangerously close and Sasuke closed his eyes; he braced for the incoming strike…
xxx
Everything stopped all at once and Sasuke cautiously opened his eyes. He found that he was sitting on top of a desk? He stood up slowly to look around and he found that his hands weren't bound together anymore; the same went for his feet. He cautiously started walking and tried to figure out just where he was. He was in a plainly decorated room, there were bookshelves filled with books to his right, to his left, there was a long table where many medical apparatus had been set up. All in all, it looked like any ordinary room, except for the fact that everything in it was at least a hundred times bigger than he was. A feminine voice called out,
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mortal. Please, do look where are you going." The voice advised him. Sasuke stopped short and looked down to where a foot was raised up; he had almost walked straight off the edge of the desk. He immediately took a few steps backwards and he heard a feminine chuckle. He tried to find the source of the voice,
"Where the hell am I? How did I get here from the mountains?" He asked aloud as he turned this way and there. Sasuke heard what seemed to be click of a tongue.
"Really, you mortals are so curious about everything. It makes me wonder how your species had not died out yet…" The voice mused. It was then that Sasuke saw her. She sat in a chair with her legs crossed; her head rested itself on her fist that was placed on the armchair. Her bright green eyes studied him intensely as her pastel pink hair flowed around her like silk in water. She gave him a smirk when he fell in surprise; she was very much larger than he was. While he was but a speck on the desk, it seemed to fit her height and size almost perfectly.
"A-Are you the Goddess of Health and Wisdom?" Sasuke whispered in awe. It would be the most logical thought when he was after all, sacrificed to her. She grinned and moved forward,
"Yes. And who might you be, mortal?" She inquired her voice like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. Sasuke gulped,
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I was sacrificed to you in hopes that you may rid my village of the White Death that has plagued it for almost two moons now." He introduced himself with a slight bow. To his surprise, the goddess frowned at his words,
"Sacrificed? Why in the world would your village think that I'll help them by sacrificing you?" She wondered, anger lacing her sentence. Sasuke shrugged in confusion and she slammed her fist on the desk. It reverberated with such force that Sasuke was sent onto his butt again. The goddess realised her mistake with a muttered 'oops'. She then stood up and took a step towards the table when she disappeared in a shower of Sakura petals; only to reappear in front of him on the desk, smaller in size now. She held out her hand to help him up and he accepted it. When they stood facing each other, she was mortified to find that she was at least a head shorter than him.
"Damn my human form… Why is it so short anyways?" She muttered grumpily as she paced to and fro. Finally, once her little tirade was over, she turned back to face him,
"Sasuke, was it?" She started and he nodded in affirmation. She continued,
"Doesn't your village priest or elders know that you don't sacrifice a life to the Goddess of Health and Wisdom? Doing so is pretty much against my principle? If they wanted my help, they could have just planted a Sakura tree? Really, the practice of human sacrifice is really frowned upon by us deities, you know? I have half the mind to send you back just to give them a scare!" She ranted in disbelief. Sasuke placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder and she whirled around instantaneously,
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She addressed him in confusion. He looked away,
"Does that mean you can send me back if you wanted to?" He asked with a tilt of his head. Sakura's eyes softened at him,
"I'm sorry, dear. But that's not how it works. From where you came from, you are already dead. It's just your…soul, if you will, that transcended into the heavenly realm." She explained gently. Sasuke was silent for a while,
"So that means that all humans will arrive in this realm when they die? How did I appear in front of you? Do all of us appear in front of you when we die?" He fired. The goddess held her hands up to slow him down,
"Whoa there, slow down with the questions! Let's see… The humans that get to reach this realm are those whose souls are light enough; that means that they aren't being held down by any grief, hatred, greed or sins from their previous lives… something like that anyways…" She trailed off before she shook her head,
"Anyways, to answer your next two questions; no, people who get into this realm do not end up in front of me… They are sent to Tsunade-Shishou; there, the dead get to decide if they want to head to the Wheel of Reincarnation or live in the heavenly realms until they are forced to reincarnate." She continued patiently as Sasuke nodded in understanding.
"You, however, had a ritual done on you, it technically sent you straight to where I am the moment you died. Imagine my surprise when you suddenly appeared on my desk; I was in the middle of finishing my report!" She laughed with a slap on his back. He stumbled a few feet forwards and Sakura looked at her hand in surprise,
"I'm sorry! I'm still getting used to being this small!" She apologised profusely as Sasuke righted himself. He shook his head at her; were all gods and goddesses this friendly, or was it just her?
"So, can you help my village? Many have died from the White Death, my family included, and I would like to stop it soon…" He requested. The goddess sat on a giant brush nearby and looked thoughtful,
"You know what's weird? If anything like that happened, I would have received a report about it and I will then send the required knowledge to the doctors in the village affected deal with the disease… Yet, I have yet to receive any report on this 'White Death' that you speak off." She explained, her eyes filled with worry. She tapped her chin,
"Perhaps you could explain the disease to me?" She instructed. Sasuke nodded his head and took a seat beside her before he began explaining the disease to her; he had a close contact with it after all…
"That sounds like something Kabuto would do…" She murmured. Sasuke cocked his head to the side,
"Who is Kabuto, goddess?" He questioned. The goddess sighed and played with the ends of her flowing hair,
"Kabuto used to be my apprentice. I fired him after I found out that he had a nasty habit of spreading diseases without my knowledge. He loved to spread plagues in particular; like your White Death for example…" She informed him. Sasuke nodded slowly,
"So, what happened to him?" Sasuke quizzed. The goddess shrugged, letting go of her hair,
"Well, he was supposed to be escorted down to the lowest realm of the underworld as punishment… But he escaped and is currently hiding somewhere in the human realm. He probably passed by your village and had a little 'fun'. He probably used magic to conceal the village from me; no wonder I didn't receive any report from the human realm…" She told him. Sasuke plucked a strand of the bristle from the brush.
"So, would you still help my village, goddess?" He asked; he twirled the bristle in his hands. She crossed her arms in front of her and nodded her head, her pink hair floating along with her movements,
"Of course, it is my duty as the Goddess of Health and Wisdom after all. So don't you worry about it. Now, I have no idea what to do with you..." She informed him,
"You were sent straight to me; that means you belong to me. What should I do with you? What can you do for me? I could use another apprentice to share my skills and knowledge, but you don't seem like the studious type…" She gave him a once over. Sasuke looked away; the tips of his ears blushed red. The goddess noticed and gave a sly smirk; she might have some fun with him… Suddenly, something in Sasuke caught her eye and she stared harder at him, judging his soul,
"Oh, you have a warrior's spirit in you, Sasuke-kun." She announced in surprise. Sasuke looked at her with an eyebrow raised. She nodded to herself,
"Yes, yes. I could do that…" She muttered. Sasuke placed a hand on her shoulder,
"What do you have in mind, goddess?" He questioned. She turned to him and gave him a bright smile,
"You could be my warrior! I'll send you to Kakashi, the God of War for training. With enough training, and I'm fairly certain that you'll have it down in no time; you could go after Kabuto and bring him down! How's that for a plan?" She cheered very much proud of herself. Sasuke looked mildly astonished,
"Isn't it better to send other more god-like warriors after him?" He questioned. She shook her head,
"You used to be mortal and that means that you could enter the mortal realm for an indefinite amount of time. We gods can only enter the mortal realm for a short amount of time; that's hardly anybody would get to see us. Also, I'll be able to personally teach you all of Kabuto's tactics that I'm familiar with. Together with Kakashi's training, you'll be able to defeat Kabuto in no time at all!" She quipped as she stood and brushed down her own kimono. She began walking towards the edge of the desk and Sasuke followed her,
"Why are you so certain that I'm able to defeat him, goddess?!" He called out after her. She turned back and gave him a mischievous look,
"Do you know that if one were to stay here long enough, even someone who used to be mortal can attain godhood? Those who were sacrificed would have to live in this realm for the rest of their existence, you know?" She explained with a wave of her hand.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Sasuke asked flabbergasted. Just where was the goddess going with all of this? Sakura smirked,
"See here, Sasuke. I took a look into your soul and it seems that you were destined to come into the realm of the Gods. Sasuke, you're probably going to be a God of Justice and Strength in a thousand years' time or so. Consequently, catching Kabuto would only be the first step of your journey." She finally revealed. Sasuke stopped in his tracks. Nuts, she was completely nuts. Sakura huffed,
"I'm sorry if you think otherwise, but I am very much able to hear your every thought. So if you would just do me a favour and believe in me that would be very nice…" She reprimanded him as she waved a stern finger at his direction. He nodded,
"I'm not saying that you are absolutely going to be a God, Sasuke. You just have what it takes to be one. It doesn't mean that you'll automatically win against Kabuto in a fight; you'll have to work hard for it…" She warned him.
"Uchiha Sasuke, I want you to be my right hand man. You shall train hard to defeat all that go against me. Are you willing to do that?" She asked with a spark in her eyes. Sasuke's jaw clenched,
"This Kabuto, he was the one responsible for my family's death?" He asked the goddess. She nodded a grim smile on her face. He smirked,
"Then I shall accept your offer, goddess." He bowed low. Sakura chuckled and lift his face upwards with her fingers,
"Good. Then your first assignment is to address me with my name, Sakura."
~Up next, Day 21~