-x-
Itachi could feel the change in season. Their six months were coming to a close, and it just wasn't enough time.
He knew Sakura felt it too. She began to wrap herself in his cloaks, staying close wherever he went; curled to the curve of his chest, tightened fist of his clothing held close against his heart, and her cries of pleasure sounded like cries of sadness.
'I wanted to stay with you forever, Itachi. I would have eaten every pomegranate seed on that tree if it meant I never had to leave.'
He knew.
Of course, he knew.
Because he was there on that day. Itachi, the dark lord and death himself, walked her to the entrance of his world where three gods stood waiting- aching with desperation.
Mebuki seemed to cry harder at first sight of her daughter, recognition barely in her eyes. She clawed at her chest.
Her daughter, virgin and pure and holy, traded white for black dresses that hugged her figure, crimson red roses braided into her hair knotted with beads and bone of those who served beneath her. Mebuki's Springtime daughter was changed to a Dreadful Queen.
His Dreadful Queen.
Naruto, the Sun God, stood stiffly by Mebuki's side and held a single shaking hand to his beloved sister. What has he done to you, he screamed with his eyes, but Sakura raised her chin and let her defiance radiate. Her shackles has been cut long ago and she refused to let those she knew once clip them back onto her body.
He polished my skin and found a Bloody Queen underneath. He saw my darkness and breathed it to life.
Itachi pulled her into his embrace when she took another step closer to the blinding whiteness of the world above, whispering her name like a prayer, a plea. "Sakura, don't go."
The God of Death doesn't-would never beg on his knees, yet he finds himself there, clawing at her robes with burning tears. "Please, don't leave me." Her hands tangled into his hair, and she whispered her vows to him-only him.
You are blood of my blood and bone of my bone.
I give you my body that we two might be one.
I give you my immortal spirit 'til our life be done
You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself
But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give
You cannot command me, for I am free
But I shall serve you in those ways you require, and the pomegranate will taste sweeter coming from my hand.
-x-
When Spring returned, the mortals cried in relief.
They danced and sang and loved in the warmth.
When Spring returned, Sakura cried in agony.
Mebuki returned her to that damned garden with walls as tall as the sky.
Her skies now included a myriad of golden rods, criss-crossing across the landscape.
A gilded cage fitting only a Princess.
She wasn't-would not ever be allowed to leave.
Mebuki had a look in her eye that made Sakura feel sick. "I love you so much, little one. This is to keep you safe, okay?" She would murmur, stroking her daughter's hair. "No one can hurt you here; you're so safe, so protected. I will never let you go."
It was back to the birdcage.
Except this time, there wasn't a door. There was no escape. She was doomed to roam the circular rods of her prison like a caged animal, clawing and biting, finding any weakness.
Hinata was forced to send Sakura to sleep after the spring goddess spent days clawing at the grass with her nails, her golden blood dripping from ripped nails.
"I can't live like this, Hinata," Sakura would scream. "I can't breathe; my cage is tighter and smaller than ever."
The Moon Goddess would shush her and rock her to sleep, tucking the young goddess beneath her chin, arms wrapped tight around her. "One breath at a time, little one. It will get easier with time, I promise you." Voice echoing with history, with aching.
Sakura tore down a small part of her garden, ripping flowers from their beds and growing privacy bushes and trees. There she built a small altar made from the bones she took from her hair, smearing her ichor into the ground.
Black roses bloomed, and she prayed. And prayed.
And prayed.
Ino, the cruel mother of all, pulled Sakura against her breast.
"You share more with those war brides than you ever thought. While they wonder if their husbands will return from war, Itachi wonders if you will ever return from Olympus."
Sakura cried, clutching her heart. "Why does this hurt so much?"
"Gods burn the love they touch. Don't you remember the story of Icarus and the Sun?" Ino murmured. "You got too close, and now you are a wax-winged mortal that burns, free-falling back to the earth."
The words go unsaid.
You should have eaten more seeds.
-x-
He lounged in a chair before his fireplace that burned hot, but Itachi felt so cold. His head spun from the endless glasses of potent wine that never left his hand the moment he returned to his Acropolis. It felt thick on his tongue, heavy and ship on loose waves in his stomach.
Blurred red eyes slinked up from the fire to the painting of Icarus mid-fall, wings burning and eyes closed and blurred with tears.
Gods burn everything they touch.
"You look so sad, my love," a deep, sultry voice floated to him.
Half-lidded eyes looked over to the woman he had once contemplated sharing life with. "Minthe," he slurred, blinking but still two of the same nymph remained. "What shadows have you been lurking in?"
She laughed airily, throwing her silky black hair over her shoulder to reveal her ample breasts. She was naked under all that hair that fell around her like a curtain, her body as beautiful and tempting as when he met her. Her body stiffened under his gaze, his proximity. Erect nipples, breathy gasps, clenching thighs. "Don't you think you'll have more fun with me, my lord?" She purred, settling into his lap to press kisses against his jaw.
Itachi grunted, pulling away from her touch. "I'm married, Minthe. I have no time to be a pawn in your games."
Her clawed finger traced down his face, leaving a bloody line behind. "Do you think marriage stops Kakashi from wandering to the mortal realm to fuck with those stupid little girls?" She leaned in, licking the blood away. "Besides, your child wife is a-a-all the way up there, and well, you're down here." She was on his neck again, sucking and licking, her breath in little pants. "I can relieve your tension, my love. The child doesn't ever have to know." The scent of her arousal filled his nose, every one of his senses. He could nearly taste it on his tongue.
And then he could hear her calling his name.
Itachi…. Itachi, I miss you so much; I hope you can hear this prayer. I'm trapped in this goddamn garden that my mother built walls around. I feel like I can't breathe. I want to come home. I miss you, please I want to come home.
He got up, letting the nymph fall to the ground in a pile and a shout.
"I'm married."
With a flourish of his cape, he retreated to his bedroom to breathe in her scent that lingered on his bedsheets.
-x-