CHAPTER 6.
She walked, she kept walking, but she didn't know where to go. Since she left the castle and passed the garden that surrounded it, there was countryside, only countryside. Sakura walked along a dirt road and, on her sides, there were fields of flowers, some orange trees, others were fields of broccoli, others of different fruits. But only countryside. She hadn't come across any person, nor any animal. Some other bird that seemed exotic, or out of a dream, as Sakura thought, rolling her eyes.
It was true that where she was it was an unknown place. She wouldn't know exactly where she was, if she was still in Konoha, or somewhere else. She also couldn't tell if she had changed country, region or even planet. Because yes, something that was there didn't fit, as if it were from another world. The sky was blue, but just like the fields, it sometimes changed to other colors, or even the occasional rainbow was seen, some were the right colors, others were simply the red, orange, yellow color palette, another one was bluer and more violet. Sakura began to think that everything was strange.
She kept walking, and the sun was beginning to set, it would soon be night, Sakura thought, with a little fear since she had nowhere to go. She began to regret having left there, but no, impossible, she had to return home. In the distance she saw that there was a small cabin, hoping there was someone living in that place and could offer her shelter, she hurried towards it. When she got closer, she could see that it was abandoned, there was no one. The windows were broken, the entrance door was ajar, and when she entered it was dirty, full of broken furniture, dirty with dust and cobwebs. Sakura sighed resignedly; she had no better option to spend the night. So, she cleaned a corner of the cabin as best she could. Still taking advantage of the last rays of sunlight, she was able to observe what was inside to see what she could use. She realized there was a small fireplace, and between the furniture around it and the fabric of some curtains, she was able to make a fire for the cold and to have a little light inside. She didn't have a lighter with her, but as if it were a dream, she summoned it as soon as she thought about it, it appeared out of nowhere. How strange, Sakura thought.
She lay down between the blankets she had arranged in a corner near the fire. The temperature had dropped significantly since the afternoon, because during the day it had been hot, although not so hot that it bothered with the clothes she was wearing, but even now as night fell, it was almost winter cold. She tried to fall asleep, but she felt too active and tired from the anxiety she had had for the last few hours. So, sleeping seemed an impossible task. She heard a sound outside the cabin, she quickly turned to the window, but she could see nothing but darkness. The moon did not emit any kind of light because it was a new moon, only the stars were clearly visible, and some nebulas in the distance; some were the natural green color, but others were violet, beautiful, but strange at the same time. Sakura was beginning to think that she was not in Konoha, and possibly she was in some remote place where no one could find her. How could she get out of there? Sasuke was probably right, and she was in the Dream World, after all, everything she saw there and what had happened to her so far was almost inexplicable. Not even she, who was a rational person, could find a scientific and reasonable reason.
Trying to fall asleep in vain, and preventing the fire from extinguishing, she noticed how something suddenly entered the cabin, but she couldn't turn around to see what it was. Instead, she felt like something, a shadow, was holding her by the neck, she tried to move, scream, do anything, but she couldn't, it was all useless. That shadow dragged her to the ground, and kept her motionless. Sakura tried without luck to move to run away, but she couldn't do anything. She noticed how that supernatural force kept her on the ground, she wanted to see the figure that was keeping her like that, but it was useless. All she could do was breathe and move her eyes, so she desperately searched for the creature responsible. She began to notice how cold and scratchy hands began to touch her legs, Sakura wanted to get away from the contact, but it was impossible. She noticed how those hands had claws that scratched her. She began to feel nauseous from the unwanted contact. She noticed how little by little those hands were going up to her breasts, Sakura wanted to scream, to pull away, to run away from that contact. But she couldn't. Sakura felt despair and disgust for the unpleasant touch.
"Don't move, bitch," said a rough voice, which made a shiver run down Sakura's spine. But she wasn't moving, how could it say that? Could it be that she was moving, but it seemed like she wasn't? A pain in her belly stopped her thoughts, she noticed how something was tearing her apart, she wanted to look, to scream, but it was impossible. She wanted to know what it had been. She noticed how the pain was running through her stomach, it was sharp. Those claws began to drag her by the legs and pushed her down. Sakura, already powerless, just closed her eyes and let what had to happen just happen, because she couldn't do anything but wait for it all to end. She felt like that body was no longer hers, like it no longer belonged to her, she was not the owner of her body, but she was at the mercy of those claws and rough cold hands. A tear managed to fall down her cheek, her breathing was labored, she focused on her breathing and tried to escape the contact of those long hands. Suddenly she noticed that contact had vanished, and at the same time she noticed how that force that kept her against the ground disappeared, so she quickly opened her eyes and sat up to see what that pain was.
She saw four wounds, like four claws had wounded her stomach, her belly was full of blood. She barely noticed pain because of the adrenaline and fear of what could have happened. She heard a sound coming from the open door and saw a familiar figure, Sakura relaxed and began to cry.
"Sasuke..." she whispered through tears. She looked at his face full of despair and anger. He rushed to take her in his arms as if he was afraid, she would faint, his touch was so different from the one she had been feeling a moment ago. This touch was warm and delicate, he held her with devotion.
"Who did that to you? Sakura, tell me who did that to you!" he screamed in total desperation. But Sakura didn't know who it was, she felt helpless and at the same time useless for having let it happen. Sasuke held her in his arms, holding her tightly by the waist and the other hand holding her firmly on her neck. "Sakura, who did that to you?" he kept asking furiously.
"No," Sakura said between sobs "I don't know..." she closed her eyes in shame, resting her forehead on Sasuke's shoulder, she felt so stupid. How could she have let that happen to her?
"Tell me, did he do anything else to you?" Sasuke's voice trembled with anger, Sakura probably should have been feeling scared at that moment, but, on the contrary, she felt safe in his arms. She felt like she could fall asleep there in his arms, as if he was the only person she could trust.
"No," she hesitated for a moment, "I don't think so." She avoided looking into his eyes, she was embarrassed to find herself in that situation. If it hadn't been for him, who knows what would have happened. Sakura felt so terribly horrified by the situation. She stood firm, her hands remained holding the back of Sasuke's dark coat, she held it so firmly that she didn't want him to ever let go. She didn't want to leave him at that moment. Sasuke held her in his arms when he stood up, he walked the same route to the castle with her in his arms. She noticed how his chest moved with desperation and anger at seeing her in such a state. Sakura didn't understand why he cared so much, but she didn't care, she felt safe with him, so safe that she fell asleep in his arms on the way to the castle. Nothing mattered to Sakura anymore, now she just wanted to be with him.
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"ITACHI! ITACHI!" The anger that emanated from Sasuke's body was so strong that his mind was clouded, the anger did not allow him to think properly. In reality, he was not clear about what his purpose was, but he did know that he wanted to find the person responsible for harming Sakura. When he left her resting in her room, he went straight to the realm of nightmares, from there should be the creature that had harmed Sakura. Well, it had to be one of the incubus that visited her continuously, he thought.
"Sasuke, what's wrong?" his older brother appeared, worried to see his brother in such a state of agitation. He approached him with the intention of calming him down. "Sasuke, why are you so uneasy? What happened?"
"Don't tell me you don't know," he replied with such anger, he knew well that his brother should be aware of what had just happened. He looked at him with exasperation.
"Sasuke, if you don't tell me what happened I won't know. I haven't obtained the ability of clairvoyance yet." His brother's words didn't calm him down. He thought he was making fun of him, so his anger grew.
"Don't touch me Itachi, who did it? Tell me now!" This time Itachi took a step back to look clearly at his brother. He was tense and tempered with anger, his eyes remained red. That ability so characteristic of the Somnia. That reflex that showed emotions so vividly like no other god experienced them.
"Sasuke, please calm down. I really don't know what you're talking about, you're worrying me." Itachi remained calm. He was the most serene and rational brother of the three. Sasuke and Obito were much more emotional and impulsive.
"Sakura..." he spoke haltingly in anger "someone has hurt Sakura, it must be one of the incubus in one of your nightmares," he explained, trying to breathe between each word. He watched as his brother remained thoughtful, every second was killing Sasuke, he wanted to have answers immediately. Patience was not Sasuke's strong suit.
"How strange..." he hesitated for a moment in thought "ever since you told me about Sakura, I have been quite aware of any of her nightmares, but I have no report of any recent nightmares." He stopped talking and remained thoughtful. "Maybe it wasn't a nightmare, Sasuke. It is very likely that now that she is in the Dream World any creature, even demons can harm her, and it is possible that they have found her." He finally said. That made sense, and her physical wounds were an indicator that she hadn't been dreaming, but sometimes incubus left small physical reminders to their victims, like bruises, or small marks on the body, but Sakura's were deep wounds. As if she had resisted and they were trying to keep her still. Thinking about that drove Sasuke crazy, he needed to get hold of that demon that had dared to hurt her.
"How can I know who it was? Sakura couldn't see it, it stayed out of her vision the whole time and caused her sleep paralysis," he explained to his brother hoping he would help him. Because the incubus were part of his kingdom, although Sasuke ruled the entire Dream World, each brother had his part to maintain order.
"The incubus leave a small trace in the wounds they make; their claws are like their fingerprints. Maybe if I could see Sakura's wound, I could recognize what kind of incubus it was. Although I highly doubt, I'd be able to recognize who it was," Itachi replied.
"It works for me, with that information I can figure out who it was from the nightmares," his voice was still angry. After his brother's explanation, he had calmed down a bit.
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Apparently, the incubus that attacked Sakura was one of Orochimaru's demons, one of the leaders among the demons. So, Sasuke entered the area where they lived. The Dream World was so large that there was room for all the creatures of the Dreams. All kinds of creatures lived in the Realm of Dreams, and they had their specific places where they lived. In this case, the place of the demons belonged to the nightmare realm, where Itachi reigned. But, even so, Sasuke had dominion there since he reigned over the entire Dream World, and he could walk and do what he wanted throughout his kingdom without any consequences.
The area of the demons was isolated in one of the mountains of the nightmare realm. Many of the creatures avoided it, because many times it was not necessary to enter the place of the demons for something to happen to you, because just by hanging around nearby they would kidnap you and no one knew what they did to you.
Sasuke was already close to the area of the demons, he knew who he was looking for, it was one of the leaders of the incubus, there were few, but the most notable for his reputation was Orochimaru. As he went deeper, he noticed that someone was following him, he knew that most likely it would be one of the demons. Sasuke was starting to get irritated since the creature did not reveal itself, so he stopped dead waiting for the creature to approach him. He remained with his eyes closed and putting all his senses on edge. He noticed how the creature approached him as if he were its prey, a crooked smile was revealed on his face. When he had her in front of him, he opened his eyes, revealing his reddish eyes and sparks began to emerge from his left hand, they were almost violet blue. He grabbed the creature by the neck surrounded by the sparks that emerged from his hand. Indeed, it was one of the demons of that area, specifically a succubus. A demon that had the same purpose as the incubus, but in this case in a female shape. It was of the same unpleasant appearance as the incubus, but with feminine features and qualities. While he had her by the neck, she burst out laughing, Sasuke squeezed her neck with all the anger he had accumulated since the events of Sakura.
"Take me to Orochimaru," he ordered. She continued laughing as if the one in front of her was not the god Morpheus himself, the owner of the world to which she belonged and had to show respect. Demons were like that, they did not fear death or pain, they cared about nothing but satisfying their own desires, even if it led to death.
"If you don't let me go, I can't take you to him, don't you think so?" She spoke as if she were trying to dissuade him. Flirting, as if he were a simple human who could fall on her magic. Sasuke let go of her with contempt and the sparks in his hand dwindled until they disappeared. The repulsion he felt towards the demons was such that he wanted everything to end as soon as possible and to be with Sakura. Sasuke's patience was beginning to wear thin.
They followed the path that Sasuke was making towards the area where the demons lived. In the distance, smoke could be seen coming out of some chimneys, and some houses that seemed to be in ruins. The demons did not care for anything, not even what was theirs. They lived in such deplorable conditions that it seemed like they were homeless creatures. But they had their community, their support and their home.
When they reached the village, there were some demons outside their houses chopping wood, other smaller creatures, probably offspring of the demons playing chase. They passed through the streets that were full of garbage and liquids that Sasuke preferred not to know what it could be. Probably demon blood, since any dispute would lead to fights to the death. It was like an uncivilized community. Sasuke looked ahead, not giving any attention what was going on around him. But some of the demons stood there observing Sasuke's presence, probably wondering what Lord Morpheus what was doing there.
They headed to the largest building in the entire village, it was just as poorly maintained as all the other houses, but it stood out for its size and because it had a little more decoration than the others. The succubus stopped outside the building with no intention of continuing.
"It's here, Lord Morpheus," she said as she looked at the ground. And Sasuke went inside without looking at her, without answering a word. When he entered the building, the succubus stared at him in fear, knowing that at the slightest click her existence would be null. So, she quickly left.
The main door remained closed, he approached until he stood in front of it waiting for it to open. Sometimes Sasuke showed such arrogance for his position as Lord of the Dream World, that many of the creatures of his own realm detested him, but at the same time respected him. They knew that at any movement and desire of his they would disappear and probably appear before Thanatos or Keres. A few seconds later the door opened before him, and without thinking he entered not knowing what to expect would be inside.
It was all dark, there was a strong smell of humidity. On the walls there were robust chandeliers that illuminated part of the room. He noticed how a shadow approached him, probably trying to scare him, but Sasuke was not surprised neither scared. He turned and saw the figure of a demon, which had the features of a snake. Kabuto, Sasuke thought to himself, Orochimaru's ass-licker. He was Orochimaru's favorite minion, his pet.
"What is the honor of our Lord visiting our village for?" he said, feigning courtesy. Pure hypocrisy from demons, Sasuke thought, rolling his eyes. He hated hypocrisy and falsehood.
"I came to talk to Orochimaru," he answered simply and plainly, without giving much more explanation.
"Come in, this way," he said, gesturing to follow him down the long hallway that led into one of the sides, the way was lit by the fire from the candelabras. They walked for several minutes until they found themselves in a large room, it was like a cave, wide and tall columns rose to the almost vaulted ceiling. It looked like a Christian church, but without any windows. At the back was a figure with a giant shape of a snake behind it. Orochimaru's symbol, Sasuke thought. Orochimaru was an incubus who had the ability to transform into a snake. Some demons could transform into creatures, but few managed it, Orochimaru had perfected this ability and was slowly passing it on to his favorite subject; Kabuto.
"Welcome Lord Morpheus," said an almost hissing voice that resembled that of a snake, its eyes glowing yellow, "To what do I owe this honor?" he asked. Sasuke stopped in front of the demon, still keeping his gaze on the incubus's yellow eyes.
"I'm looking for one of your demons," he said, maintaining Sasuke's characteristic stoic face.
"And may I ask why our Lord is personally looking for an incubus?" a malicious smile appeared on his face, Sasuke was beginning to get irritated, his patience was running out.
"Orochimaru, I'm not here for games, bring before me the incubus I'm looking for," he replied. Sasuke knew that Orochimaru knew well what each of his demons was doing, there were hardly any secrets between them. Besides, when they did anything, they said it to the four winds to show off and boast about their disgusting feats.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," the smile disappeared as he observed the anger emanating from him. Sasuke watched as Orochimaru and Kabuto exchanged glances. He hated being played with, so without letting either demon think he turned his eyes red and turned to Kabuto causing black flames to start burning Orochimaru's favorite demon. Sasuke had full control of those black flames, he could make them burn his prey quickly or slowly, or he could even make them disappear instantly. Kabuto kept screaming with such desperation that Orochumaru had no choice but to give in. "Okay, I'll tell you," He replied, "But please, stop the flames of Prometheus," Sasuke looked at him doubtfully, but in the end decided to give in, knowing that if he wasn't satisfied with the information, he was going to give him, he wouldn't hesitate to make the flames devour Kabuto, this time, to the end.
"Speak," he spat maliciously.
"The demon you're looking for is called Tetsu," Orochimaru replied.
"Where can I find this Tetsu?" he asked impatiently to which Orochimaru replied with a smile.
"He's probably stalking some girl in some dream," at such a vague and obvious answer Sasuke turned around and left the room and the building, quickly moving away from the village. He knew what he had to do, so he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and searched through the nightmares until he found the demon. Sasuke had the ability, like his two brothers, to be able to observe in real time the dreams that were happening at the same time, as well as being a participant in it. Indeed, he was in one of the nightmares of a young girl, he was trying to do the same thing that he had tried a few hours ago to Sakura, but with this one it was just a dream. Sasuke's dark trail and figure disappeared from the forest, leaving dust floating in the air.
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A young girl with long blonde hair and an attractive appearance was crying in her bed, and around her there was something she couldn't see well, she noticed that it was crushing her against her bed, and she noticed how it was groping her in a lustful way. The young girl wanted to scream, but she couldn't, she wanted to move, but it was impossible. Although she couldn't see the creature, it was the incubus that had been stalking Sakura in the same way a few hours ago; Tetsu.
Out of nowhere a tall and imposing figure appeared, it was a man dressed in dark clothes, but she could see him well, he was attractive, with long silky hair and dark and eyes so black that they seemed like the abyss itself. The figure she hadn't been able to see now appeared in her field of vision, and she was able to move, so she got up and moved away from both figures; the attractive and serene man, and the disgusting monster. The creature moved away from the man as if it were afraid of him, it began to beg. "Lord Morpheus, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I didn't know the young woman was under your protection," the figure knelt down, maintaining a pathetic posture. The man in dark clothes showed no mercy.
"If I send you to Keres, I know you'll have a slow and horrible death, but I won't be able to witness it, so I'm going to kill you with my own hands," and in his left hand, some almost violet sparks appeared. He put his hand on the creature's head and began to scream desperately in pain, his whole body was smoking, it seemed like he was being electrocuted. The screams filled the entire room, and the attractive man looked at the girl, realizing that she was witnessing the entire scene, so they disappeared instantly. And the girl woke up from her horrible nightmare.
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Sasuke and Tetsu appeared outside Sasuke's castle. Tetsu remained pathetically on his knees screaming from the tremendous pain he felt from the lightning. At the same time, the black flames that had killed one of the demons a few weeks ago appeared in the figure of the incubus, and the screams this time were more heartbreaking. The scene was causing so much attention that Sakura appeared on the balcony of her room, and observed the figure of Sasuke mercilessly killing the demon that had hurt her and almost raped her. At that moment she felt terror, her body shuddered. Sasuke was capable of that. Sakura did not know if he was good or bad, she did not know if she could trust him as she thought she could despite having saved her. But at the same time, he wanted to keep her there against her will. Sakura was sure that a good man could not do that. And she entered her room with fear, avoiding seeing that horrible scene.
The screams ceased, and the incubus called Tetsu disappeared without leaving any trace. Sasuke, satisfied, entered directly into the castle, closing the gate behind him.